The All Might Cafe
by SpicedPumpkinSoup
Summary: During a study session in an empty shop, a familiar face shows up. Written based on the cover image, not quite romantic, but that's not for lack of effort on the boy's part! Will he be satisfied with friendship? Will the girl return his feelings? Find out for yourself!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N** : Hope you guys like it. This will probably be a one shot unless I can actually figure out where I can go from here, figured I'd give my favorite pairing a try and see where it goes. As usual, leave your honest thoughts on it. Sorry ahead of time for the length.

* * *

The autumn day was cold and windy. Small scatterings of people young and old wandered along with their goals in mind, a pace as brisk as the day itself. Snuggled between two mildly successful businesses and flanked by a large mall, the All Might Café might not seem to be a place for quiet study to a regular person. The exterior had seen better days, and the interior's choice of decoration was a bit dated, the large number of posters strewn about the walls haphazardly often left visitors with the word tacky crossing their lips on the way out. Even with a softly crackling fire going, there was an almost constant draft blowing through. Even All Might's final victory wasn't enough to bring in more regulars to the place.

Momo, however was no regular person. The ability to create blankets negated any draft inside and All Might's smiling face looking down from everywhere actually added an additional expectation for her to meet and overcome. She may have had the top grades, but that didn't excuse slacking on researching new uses for her quirk!

The books she studied from were not scattered but lovingly organized by the subject's material composition and possible usage in heroics or general utility covering both a great range of topics and the table she read from. The lack of room also kept others from trying to invite themselves to sit with her, not that the shop was busy enough to have this happen more than once in a blue moon. Just enough room for the iced tea she chose on a whim despite the almost frigid weather. _Thankfully today has been rather quiet,_ she thought. Though focused in her research, the jingle of the door's bells got her attention.

Momo took her eyes off her books to check if it was a regular, but this visitor was someone she recognized. Locking eyes with the raven haired beauty, the young man casually strolled over and sat down. Most of the time, Momo would politely inform a person of how busy she was, especially if someone hadn't the decency to at least ask if they could sit down. A familiar classmate, however, was thankfully a welcome break from the studying she was getting into. Having placed one book gently over another to make room for her new guest, Momo even offered part of the blanket to him as well.

"Thanks Momo, thought I was going to die of frostbite out there. It's nice to be away from everyone else for a bit." Mineta, cellphone in hand, lounged back in the warmth of a shared blanket.

"You know," Momo began to chastise, "You should probably order something. They might treat you as a loiterer otherwise". Although her voice took a temporarily parental tone, she laid off a bit as she felt the cold emanating from Mineta's body. It was clear his body didn't do too well on heat retention. Scarf or not, the school uniform wasn't helping the situation. That much was obvious even with the sizeable space he left between them. With this in mind, this she handed a bit more of the blanket over to him.

"I hear you, Momo, give me a bit to rest and I'll get something to order." Giving her a nod of graditude, he draped the blanket along his torso, and basked in comfort.

She noticed the quick glances over the admittedly large number of books she lain along the table as he slowly closed his eyes. Before long, his rhythmic inhales and exhales added to the peaceful ambience of the café. Momo was finally somewhat used to his abrupt change in behavior. It was almost 2 months prior when they had a heart to heart about a lot of personal things._ And to think, it was all because you hesitated in one of your usual schemes._ Looking back, there was plenty of yelling, some genuine tears, but it was a growing point for both of them. Oddly enough, Mineta urged that the positive change be kept quiet. His line of thinking was it would look suspicious if she was openly conversing with him of all people. He figured the others would assume it was something shady and it might cause a violent intervention. Momo agreed. Although she felt a simple explanation would suffice, his sudden change of heart might be a bit too off-putting to be believable, and if the backlash was too much, it may even force him to revert. Better safe than sorry is how she felt on the matter, but she didn't have the heart to explain her feelings.

Thanks to this newfound friendship they would meet every weekend in secret and converse. They made sure it was during everyone else's busy time, but Mineta took it a step further and suggested playing match maker with Denki and Jiro. Momo had reservations about the last bit, but Mineta pointed out if they were too busy making puppy dog eyes at one another they wouldn't be too worried about where two people with nothing in common were at. She hated to admit it, but watching Jiro soften up ever so slightly whenever she saw Denki was absolutely heartwarming. They had some close calls, but the only one close enough to really notice was Bakugo, and he merely scoffed, and walked off in some other direction. She could have sworn she heard, "not my damn business" before leaving, but she frankly wasn't sure. He certainly never said a thing to either of them afterwards.

Suddenly she felt a soft tug on her arm. Mineta, now wide awake, scanned the books laid around the table. "Momo, it looks like you're working pretty hard on improving your quirk. It's crazy to me how you're trying to find new things, even though you're already great with it. I wish mine was half as good as yours." He words at the end tapered off, as he fixated on no book in particular.

Momo was mildly flustered by his sudden compliment, but tried to divert it. "There's no need to sell yourself short, Mineta. Your quirk might be a bit more limited in scope now, sure, but there's no telling what you'll be able to accomplish with training and experience! You just need to keep trying."

Mineta paused for a moment as he brought up his cellphone, possibly to check if he had any new messages from Denki. "Keep trying huh?" She noticed a small, bitter smile, before he continued, "I'm not so sure about that. Compared to you, I can do some neat tricks, but I need people to make me useful. Actual heroes with powerful quirks. If I'm by myself and I don't surprise my opponent, I'm as good as dead. You and your quirk on the other hand are so useful that you'd need people only in certain situations."

"Well," she paused, briefly, "I mean we all need people in some way or another. For instance during the USJ Jiro an-"

"I'm not talking about the USJ." Mineta's suddenly serious voice interrupts her, but he's looking down into the blanket. "Momo, I was a detriment to your plan during that initial mock fight. I honestly think you had a chance to win if I hadn't been around. Heck I think you could have won on your own".

Even without eye contact, she could tell he was ashamed of himself. They've had a conversation or two like this before, this but this was different. Though she welcomed her shorter classmate's change in behavior, she didn't quite know how to respond when he would depreciate himself. She could unfortunately relate to undervaluing one's self, especially when snap decision makers like Bakugo or Shoto shone so brightly in their class. Even Mineta, she realized, not only persevered over the pro Midnight, someone with the... qualities to easily be considered his number one weakness, but defeated her soundly with his own ingenuity and a piece of Sero's tape. Technically solo. Just then a distasteful thought, especially for her, spoke up, _there really shouldn't have been any hope of him winning that match_ before she snuffed it out._ I don't have a leg to stand on there._ In her eyes she had arguably the most powerful student in their grade and "her" victory was still almost sheer luck.

Caught speechless and with little else but her mistakes resurfaced to go on, she felt the self-degradation start as well. "Mineta, I think you are truly overestimating how good I am now and where I stood at the start of our class. It took me quite some time for me to reach even this point of competence. You might not see it, but I really am not as skilled or proficient as you think I am."

"If don't mind me saying it like this, then, I think you don't know how great you are, Momo. You're the smartest, kindest, and most beautiful girl in the whole class, heck I'd even say the whole school!" As soon as he finished, however, Mineta instantly clamped his hands over his mouth. Clearly he wasn't looking to go that far, and the apprehension in his eyes betrayed any attempt to hide what he just said. Yaoyorozu, however, was more curious than anything over how he was acting after his statement.

"I mean, it's certainly a surprise to hear you say that out loud, but you have said much worse in the past? Right?" She couldn't help but chuckle a bit at the thought of him worrying over his own words, but stopped as soon as she realized he was seriously troubled. "Is something the matter? You look absolutely frightened!"

Swallowing whatever fear he had, Mineta opened up. "Momo, I'm not going to lie. I was worried you were going to be mad. I thought you'd be so angry you'd leave here and never want to talk with me again. That all these meet ups, trying to avoid any attention, getting to actually know you and learn who you really are, would all be for nothing. That all of this would all end up in smoke. I'm sorry."

Momo was pretty taken aback by his honesty. It was odd seeing Mineta regret something he said, especially considering his old behavior when he would keep act up with Kaminari, but here he was in the flesh doing just that. Taking a closer look at him now, the trembling his body was doing may well have been the worry his thoughts were going to ruin everything. Feeling nothing but pity towards him she reached out and placed a hand on his small, thin shoulder. As she did, tears began to well in his eyes. "Mineta, that took a lot to admit. You may not think it's much, but the fact you were worried about how I felt and apologized shows how far you've grown!

"... Thank you." It was all he could do to fight back his tears. He had to steady himself before he uttered his quiet response.

Both of them sat in silence for a few moments but before long they began talking to one another. Going over Momo's personal progress, about new things she could use and even about possible quirk combos. Mineta pointed out that the support group might be have info on his hair composition and she could use that to create objects that wouldn't stick to his balls, like a modified cannon using his grapes as ammo, or a liquefied version of his hair to seal things up or hold things together. Their worries for the moment vanished, and this quiet, empty café was their world.

As they happily conversed, the sound of loud voices approaching the café could be easily heard. The cheerful babbling among the group outside sounded familiar to the two. There was an even more familiar voice above the din. "Shut the hell up, you nerds, I can hardly think!" Momo and Mineta both were looking out the window as a now angry Iida began to chastise Bakugo, who had already maneuvered past an also upset Uraraka to address Izuku directly. For the moment the group were at a standstill outside. A fight looked to be brewing, but there's no way they would choose right now off school grounds and in broad daylight. At least, that's what the two safely inside were hoping.

Mineta looked away from the commotion and stared down at the books for a moment or two, before nodding to himself. Without warning he wiped the last of his tears and focused on her. "Momo, I have to ask this now, can we talk about... us?"

"What's there to talk about? We've had our rough areas before, certainly, but I enjoy getting to know you. I mean, maybe start trying to tone down the occasional perverted act just a bit, but I would say you're doing well."

"That's only to keep up appearances!" Mineta started, voice already rising in pitch, before shaking his head, "Wait no, Momo, I mean, what you think of _us_?"

Shock would certainly have been the choice word. What he meant hit her and time stood still. What could she even say? His eyes looked almost pleading, with nothing but a want for an honest, if affirmative, answer. _Why now? He certainly had a kind side, even treating her with his meager allowance if he made it to the meeting spots first, but a relationship? Like what Denki and Jiro now had?_ Mineta was asking for a bit too much, but she felt he had the right to an honest answer at least.

"Mineta this is all a bit sudden, don't you think? It is a bit too soon for me to say anything about us, but I enjoy just being able to talk with you and getting to kno-"

"What are you afraid of?" It was quiet and abrupt. His eyes were looking away from her, but it was the hurt in his voice that betrayed his thoughts. "Do you think I'm trying to trick you somehow?"

"No not at all! But it's like we both agreed, the change publicly might be too much for everyone else. And you... Well you might..." She trailed off, but was hoping he wouldn't understand her worry.

His eyes widened in shock as her message came loud and clear. "That's what you're worried about!? You think I'll just flip a switch and suddenly be the school's grand perverted shame again?" Tears were streaming down his face now. "Or is it that I am a poor nobody that your family wouldn't let you be caught dead on the same planet with if it was up to them? Which is it?"

"It's not like that at all! Where you and your family are is not what the issue is!" Even Momo was caught up in Mineta's emotions and was overreacting in kind. She had to stop the misunderstanding before it got much worse. "You're a good person, Mineta, you really, truly are. These past few weeks have really shown that and I would like to know you better, but I think a relationship is just too much at the moment."

Mineta looks like he is about ready to respond, but as he opens his mouth, he hears the arguments outside from the Bakugo-Midoriya interaction finally starting to subside. Wiping the tears away, he stands up and moves away from the table with a sigh, "I think I've caused enough trouble today. Momo, I'll keep up how I'm acting in public so you don't have to worry about anyone being suspicious. Sorry for wasting your time. Good luck with the rest of your research."

As he turns to leave, Momo attempts to reach out to him to try and say something, anything, but she is at a loss for words. In that same instance, he stops and turns to her. Apparently the group outside were about to head in. His eyes look apologetic, like he knows his next action would hurt their chances of keeping up these meetings. Looking into them, Momo knows he's worried about how the others would act seeing them conversing and tries her best to withstand whatever he has in mind for a plan.

Suddenly, he blinks away the last remnant of his tears. And with no fanfare, he brings up his camera at the same time the jingling of the bells string onto the door ring out. "Woah! A beauty? In this dump!? Talk about a real diamond in the rough!" The pervert has returned. The loud snapping of his camera phone, the drool. The largest difference Momo saw wasn't what he added to his act, but what he was missing. It was the lack of shame. He was going full force, all so the now shouting group rushing in to "aid" her would be none the wiser.

Midoriya was trying to calmly talk Mineta down. Uraraka was both greeting Momo and asking if she was okay, Iida was chopping the air fast enough to take off, his booming voice adding to the cacophony the guys were building up.

Although Momo was doing her best to be courteous with Ochaco given the circumstances, the person she was focusing on the most was Bakugo. He was staring straight at her, even though the noise he was complaining about before was now much louder. No emotion on his face, just blankly staring. She held his gaze for a moment or two, before it was too much to bear and looked back towards the scene before her.

Mineta, believing his job to be done, tossed his cellphone into his pocket and rushed out of the door as fast as his legs could carry him. Although the others attempted to run after him, it was Bakugo who casually blocked the way and started shouting now, "Can you losers finally shut up already? Hairballs is gone and you're still embarrassing me with all your yelling!"

The arguing started up again from outside, Iida now trying to maintain some semblance of an indoor voice but still chopping endlessly, Deku trying to disarm Bakugo, and Uraraka telling Bakugo he's shouting louder than everyone else was. The entire time Momo watched silently. _There's no way he actually thinks there's something going on, right?_

* * *

The dorms were relatively quiet that afternoon. Apparently most everyone had used their freedom from homework that weekend to head out and do things, but a certain shorter student was brooding as he paced_. Damn it, can't you do something right for once? Of course she didn't want anything to do with you. She knows you're an awful person! You're barely at her knees! Your quirk isnt worth a damn, and worst of all... She probably won't ever want to talk with you again_. At this point, he stopped and with a heavy sigh sat down on the couch. Realizing it was pretty much a lost cause to keep worrying about it, he closed his eyes and leaned back.

He was so lost in trying to forget about today, he didn't even acknowledge the quiet opening of the automatic doors. Nor the sound of a chair being set down in front of him. He did, however, react to the grabbing of his collar and quick shake. Eyes shooting open, he was ready to lay into whoever had the rudeness to kick a guy while he was down, but his mouth sealed itself on the instinct of self-preservation when he saw the familiar, but not so angry face of Bakugo looking straight at him.

Absolute dread filled Mineta's mind, especially considering that Bakugo witnessed his indecent behavior from earlier, struggling all the while it was time to create some excuses. "Wait, Bakugo, about earlier, I swear it w-"

"Your acting sucks." Bakugo said, tossing Mineta nonchalantly onto the couch. "You could have just as easily left before they walked in."

Mineta swore there was something he wasn't catching onto, but couldn't tell what the human grenade was getting at. "Wait, do you mean earlier? I think you have the wrong idea, I just happened to spot Momo, honest! I mean, you'd be the same way in my position, right?"

Bakugo's eyes narrowed for a moment, shooting down any further excuses. He locked eyes on the grape haired classmate, "Look, whatever the hell you and ponytail do isn't my business, but if you're going to try and be secretive about it, don't be idiots. Choose places the others won't go to. Aren't you two supposed to be eggheads or something?"

"Hold on, you know?" Mineta was shocked.

"It's not tough when you morons are being so damn obvious about it. If you're smart, you'll apologize to her about your shitty attempt at acting and salvage whatever you two had going." Bakugo looked away for a second, before simply saying, "It'd be the right thing to do, at least."

Of all the people to hand out relationshi- no friendship advice, Mineta would never have guessed Bakugo. Maybe he _can_ say something to her and fix up his problem. Maybe she'll forgive him. _Honestly_, Mineta thought, _she probably doesn't want a thing to do with me right now, but I can at least do the right thing._

Forgetting who he was talking to for a moment, Mineta looked back up to Bakugo. With a smile, he extended a hand. "I think you're right. Honestly, thanks man, I owe you one. If there's anything you need, feel free to ask!"

Bakugo stared for a moment, as Mineta stood up on the couch. It was surreal, watching as Bakugo grabbed Mineta's hand, a smile on his face as well. "Actually there is one thing."

Mineta began to shake the hand of the last person he'd ever think of as friendly, "Whatever you need me to do, just ask!" The words barely left his mouth as he felt his own spirit rising. Was this what it was like making new friends? Closing his eyes to bask in the moment, it was glorious. With someone so strong looking out for him, it felt like he was flying. He could accomplish anything. Apologizing to Momo will be a breeze!

Opening his eyes to a new world full of opportunities, Mineta noted two things. The first was the change in Bakugo's expression, as he sported his usual scowl now. The mood swap was incredible. The second was the understanding as to why he was feeling weightless, as Bakugo had him already in an over-the-shoulder throw.

"If you are going to be an embarrassment in public, don't do it wearing our fucking uniform!" and with that, the table in the dormitory was broken for reasons unknown to the rest of the class.

Despite relatively minor injuries following their talk, Mineta still followed the blonde's advice. It was a painful lesson, but a lesson nonetheless. It took him well into the evening to find the words he felt were right and write them out in a text. Try as he might, he just couldn't find the strength to talk to Momo face to face. _Not after how I acted_. Those words would creep up if he even thought about trying to do so. So a text message was what he went with. All he could hope for was that she didn't block his number and mull over how well his apology was.

Well, there was one other thought. Mineta couldn't help but wonder why Bakugo seemingly went out of his way to follow the Midoriya crew. _If Bakugo already knew we were meeting up, did he actually distract the others so we could talk? If it isn't beating up villains or Midoriya, the guy is a tough read._ _I guess it doesn't matter too much_. _The day is over and she is probably laughing about my text with the other girls. Thanks for trying to be a bro anyway, Bakugo._

Closing his eyes, Mineta did his best to forget about the humiliation of today and drifted off into a troubled sleep. Although he wouldn't see it until the morning, a soft buzz signaled that there was one new notification on his cellphone.

* * *

**A/N** And that's that! I tried to cut down on words, but used up even more than I thought. I didn't know how I wanted their conversation to go and I ended up rewriting what I wanted a couple of times trying to figure out how Momo would act in such a situation. Needless to say, it was a lot tougher than I thought! Poor Mineta got roughed up here a few times, and I felt like a more hopeful ending is what the poor guy deserved. I honestly haven't had a chance to see more good fiction involving the two (hoping another author updates his work when they're not busy, it was just getting good!) so figured I may as well become a drop in a hopefully larger bucket. Again, leave all your thoughts, and have a great semester!


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N ****Well I got out of that writer's block a lot faster than I thought, and I kind of how an idea of where I want to go with the story. I wasn't sure where exactly I wanted this one to end, but I figured a slight cliffhanger was okay. I did like reading everyone's reviews and will address them at the bottom of the page. As usual leave your thoughts out and I'll try to address them as I see them. Thanks again for taking time to read the story and have a wonderful day! **

* * *

The morning of the new week Mineta happily walked into the classroom, actually nowhere close to being late for once. A few students looked a bit curious, but most continued with their conversations. Denki seemed to notice the change, but was quickly diverted when Jiro started asking what he thought of the music that she lent him. Both Iida and Uraraka noticed pretty easily that Mineta carefully zig zagged around them to get to his seat, including trying to sneak behind Midoriya. For some reason, although the former two were glaring slightly at him, he even went as far as to hum as he reached his seat. Puzzled and with no easy answers, the two shrugged and went back to their morning rituals.

On the outside Mineta appeared relaxed but inside he was feeling the pressure from the group who caught the show he pulled that weekend. He knew that it was going to take time to fix. Still, even with the staring, he was in high spirits. _In fact_, Mineta thought to himself, _Izuku hasn't even tried to talk with m-_

Of course the universe is a bit crueler than that. Midoriya, armed with a smile only a protagonist could muster, greeted the grape haired student behind him. "Good morning, Mineta! How was your weekend?"

_Of course he starts with that! This guy can't even give a man a break. Why can't you try talking to Ochaco instead!?_ Fighting through the fear of the social minefield his friend has just casually tossed him into, Mineta calmly replies," Oh it was pretty great actually, peaceful even thanks to the lack of homework", and with the intention of leaving it at that, he added, "Say, is that Ochaco waving at you?"

Turning beet red at the mention of the first girl to give him the time of day, Midoriya steals a quick glance towards his bubbly friend. Much to his dismay, she was not waving at him. From what it sounded like over the shouts and laughs of others was how excited she was about getting to learn some new martial arts the next time she got to intern to an interested Iida.

Feeling a bit silly falling for such an easy trick, Izuku went to face the front, but not before he also noticed Momo. He was a bit worried about her feelings after the whole incident and having to sit behind the guy who caused the commotion. Although considering what she told the group afterwards, she wasn't too bothered. The only issue now, however, was Momo's reaction. Despite Mineta's over-the-top and over-the-line behavior, it wasn't only that she didn't even mind the shorter boy's presence. It was that, looking closely, there was a small smile on her face as the two looked at one another briefly.

Midoriya in a state of shock quickly snapped to the front before the two could notice him. Already his mind was in overdrive. _Is she smiling, at Mineta!? Why? Wasn't he bothering her yesterday? I'm almost positive he was, but shouldn't she be glaring at him instead? What could have happened? Did they talk after he ran off? Did something happen to Momo? He wouldn't be forcing her to do that, right? This is way too strange... I have to be imagining it, right?_

Pretending to quietly stretch, Izuku turned again and tried to catch a glance of anything else. Momo was studying a clearly advanced book with plenty of diagrams on her desk. As her eyes darted across the lines, she was also organizing her thoughts into neatly written notes in the notebook next to it. In the same motion, Izuku looked down towards Mineta, who looked to be busy checking his phone. Or, at least not too busy, as he made eye contact with Midoriya after a moment.

Quickly facing the front, Midoriya was trying to just come to grips with what he just saw. For a split second, he thought he saw Mineta smirk. If the alarms weren't blaring before, they were now._ There has to be something going on! Or maybe he was smirking because of his joke? But he would have probably said something about it, right_? Old habits dying hard, Midoriya started muttering out loud, only for Bakugo to turn to face him.

Not looking to pick a fight by any means this early in the day, Midoriya tried the friendly approach, "G-Good morning, Kacchan, can I help you?"

Bakugo didn't bother giving him much more than a disgruntled look, before facing the front. Speaking to the blonde, Izuku couldn't help but back to yesterday. _You'd think Kacchan would have exploded over Mineta messing with the school's reputation, but he didn't even bat an eye to it. Maybe he was still angry at us?_ Shaking off the odd thought, Midoriya figured he could ask Iida and Uraraka if they noticed anything new from yesterday. Maybe some of his other classmates might know as well.

* * *

The night before, Momo was staring into her phone's screen. A new text message this late into the evening was a surprise, especially considering the sender. Around her the girls were winding down from their weekend as Toru mentioned a brand new restaurant she spotted today. Remembering earlier, Momo was still feeling pretty down. The memory of Mineta making a fool of himself just to not create any problems for her burned into her mind. She chastised herself for not calming him down. _I didn't even have the decency to ask if he was alright afterwards, she thought. Sure, he got a bit too confrontational, but what kind of friend doesn't at least ask? _

Still buried in her phone, it was a shock to see the wall of text in front of her. Even though she didn't try to check up on him, he made the first move to try and salvage things. _Regardless of who was at fault, at least he had the decency to try something. Why is it so tough for me to take the initiative? It's not a villain causing chaos, it's only checking on a friend after an awkward misunderstanding. _

As she mulled over how she thought of him as a friend now, her mind flashed to the Cafe and how hopeful he was to hear an honest answer about a relationship. The hurt he felt, not because she declined his request, but when he realized she was worried about a relapse in his behavior. _Eager or not, he probably didn't deserve to have me doubt his dedication to change himself for the better. He's trying to be a hero too, that should have been proof enough for me. So why did I doubt the change? It was understandable early on to worry about his lack of growth, but maybe I'm the one who needs to grow._

At this she couldn't help but sigh. Some of the other girls noticed but seeing her recover rather quickly they didn't pay much mind. Momo was too busy focused on one other thought to worry about their opinion at the moment. Her mind lingered on Bakugo. Outside, he had been shouting loud enough to be heard inside the building, and yet when he was inside he only stared at her in silence. _It was like he had some idea of what was going on._ She couldn't pinpoint what it was, but it felt like he could see through everything. Whether he went as far as to intimidate Mineta or why he would even bother stayed on her mind. In fact, his actions were the oddest part of the day and she couldn't even see a reason why he wouldn't be angry at Mineta or react with indifference when he looked at her.

Although the conversation around her was getting louder, it was only the messages holding her attention. His apology was a bit too long, truth be told. It was genuine sure, but it probably didn't help he used half of those messages to tell her how unsurprised he would be if she ignored him and the messages for the rest of her days. _Definitely a bit much,_ she thought to herself_, though I can't really hold it against him, he thought he was never going to speak with me again._ At that point, the din of the girl talk was reaching a fever pitch. Apparently Jiro was talking about the cute date she was on with Denki, and the girls were all gushing over his gentlemanly ways. Hearing Jiro mention their relationship would usually cause a spontaneous smile for Momo from how sweet it was, but right now it only made her think of Mineta's question when he asked her, "What are you afraid of?" It was odd, she just couldn't see them being together, but every time she heard someone talk about their hopes of landing their dream boyfriend, she could see Mineta looking hopeful_. Is it the same for boys too? Why am I trying to worry about this so much?_ That seemed to be a rabbit hole she wasn't interested in jumping down tonight.

With an exaggerated yawn, Momo excused herself from the group, claiming exhaustion. Giving everyone their good night's she started to walk towards the girls dorms before hearing a voice call out. Mina, lounging back in her pajamas on one of the couches gave a playful yell, "If you landed yourself a boyfriend, Yaomomo, don't forget to show us pictures

Usually this teasing would get a roll of the eyes from the others, but Momo half froze. She turned, giving a halfhearted laugh, and replied, "I'm a bit too busy trying to better myself for a boyfriend right now

Mina didn't take her easy out. Resting her chin on one of her hands, eyes narrowing in glee with a smile to match, she says back, "Love doesn't work on a schedule. We saw what happened to our pros-in-training over here," adding a pointed finger to Jiro as a finisher.

Jiro, seeing how flustered Momo was looking began to chastise Mina. Happy she had such a great friend, Momo wished everyone one last goodnight before heading to her room. She didn't hear Jiro stop yelling at Mina until the door closed behind her.

Laying out on her bed, she stared quietly at the ceiling. With a sigh, she scrolled through the messages Mineta sent. Nothing new since the earlier evening, and it was already quite late. She was still worried about how to even reply, or if she should. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she could almost hear a voice egging her on to delete the messages._ Give him an inch and he'll take a mile, just like he always has done. How long can you pretend he will keep up that mask he wears around you? When he finally strikes, you know he will never let you live it down. _

Her finger rolled across the trash option, but a much kinder, stronger part of herself forced the horrid thoughts away. _An act? He was nothing but genuine towards me. He __risked possible expulsion just to not force people to question me. He is sitting here spilling his heart out and I have the gall to question if he is a friend?_ Hesitating no longer, she began typing up an apology of her own. _Still_, she thought, _I may as well tell him to stop with the self-depreciation too. _Fingers working away she began a wall of text to match his own.

_You know, you really didn't have to go that far with your apology. I don't think calling yourself a "worm on two legs" was really all that necessary. You were hoping for an answer and I wasn't up-front enough about things. Besides, I know what you did was for my well-being without any regard for your own. I also know the apology you sent was as genuine as the friendship we built over these past few weeks. I disagree with your idea being necessary, but it was my fault that the situation deteriorated like it did..._

* * *

Back in the present, staring at the back of the Mineta's head, Momo was just glad everything worked out. The text her purple haired friend sent was a bit much, but beyond a few choice words for himself, his apology was heartfelt. To apologize in her own way, she did ask everyone not to worry about the event after Mineta ran off, to at least not get him into any trouble with Aizawa. It was his choice to go that route, but he shouldn't face consequences for trying to save her reputation.

Iida and Uraraka both were hesitant at first, but agreed to it since Momo claimed the confrontation was punishment enough. Midoriya thankfully was much more worried about everyone in the class not hating each other, and accepted it without question. Bakugo was quiet for a little while after she asked everyone this of everyone but brought his attitude back to his usual levels before walking off. She was worried that he might take matters into his own hands, but as far as she could tell though, he didn't bother Mineta for the whole weekend.

Classes were mercifully more about academic subjects today. Thanks to Momo's tutoring earlier in the year, even her lower ranked classmates were doing an okay job of answering questions. Denki even tossed a quick look her way, giving her a thumbs up sign when the answer he gave out turned out to be right. Jiro looked just a tiny bit jealous, considering it was her that was giving him all his current tutoring lessons, but she was happier to see him not bordering on failure.

The morning went by quickly and for lunch Momo decided to spend it with Jiro and Denki. "Honestly Momo", Jiro midway through the meal started, "I'm so sorry about Mina bugging you like that. You'd think she could take a hint"

"Oh no, it's quite fine. I'm sure she was just seeing if I had anything new going on in my personal life in her own way." She couldn't really hold it against Mina. When Mineta convinced Denki to go on the offensive and ask Jiro out, Momo and Mina both latched onto every cute thing Denki did for her. Heck, she even was part of the group pushing for her to give more details. _It's only fair it came back around_.

Denki looked over from his nearly finished tray and smiled, "Honestly I'm kind of jealous of how close knit you all are. Can you believe when I wanted to tell Mineta about my first date with Jiro, he blew me off and told me he had homework to do instead?" Momo sure could, because Mineta was too busy laughing at how anxious Denki was beforehand with her over texts. Between Denki impersonations he was also suggesting some new places that would be nice to visit so they could talk in peace, and even asking how her day was. Looking back on that let her smile between bites of her piping hot food.

The pleasant thoughts were interrupted however, as Jiro wasn't too thrilled to hear Denki trying to be loose-lipped. It was hard to tell which shade of red was from anger and which was from embarrassment, "You tried telling that pervert about our date? Was that why he was looking all smug at me when I saw him the next day?"

"Woah, there's no need to angry about it, babe, he's actually been doing well on the not being perverted side of things. Besides, I had to tell someone at least." Denki was doing his best to both appease his girlfriend and defend a good friend of his.

"Oh, so he is doing well now, huh? I'm sure he was doing well the last time he tried to peep on us, and he probably was pretty quiet before he tricked us with that ridiculous cheerleading scheme

Denki was trying to stand by what Mineta was doing, like acting more heroic and even participating in class, but Jiro was beating him back verbally. Listening to her talk down about Mineta like this hurt. Not because Jiro was right persay, but because Momo couldn't say a thing about it. Her only choice was always to listen about the side others remembered from so long ago, never the side she got to see. It was what reinforced the negative thoughts and had her worried about how violent a reaction there would be if it was found out Mineta was secretly meeting up with her.

Jiro at this point was calmer than she started after getting some frustration out, but she still had a few choice words, "I'm surprised you didn't spill everything to him anyway!"

"Honestly Jiro, I think you're being a bit too over-the-top about this. Besides, let's not talk about who the one is playing kiss and tell, since Mina seemed to know quite a few details without me saying a word."

Jiro was blushing at this, but merely sighed after a short pause. "Fine, you win. We both wanted to talk about how great our date went. All I'm saying though, Pikachu, is you give Mineta an inch and he'll always take a mile. I get he's your friend, but you have to understand where we're coming from."

Momo felt her chest tighten. She knew those same negative thoughts were boiling up inside of herself. Images of Mineta using her during the sports festival, every lewd look and awful comment. She wanted to raise her voice, say something to fight against it, explain how he's changed, how he is doing much better now and how even before their talk he was trying to improve. Her mouth opened for a moment, but try as she might, nothing came out. Fortunately for her, Jiro and Denki were both too busy arguing to notice their friend wrestling with her own feelings. After realizing too late she lacked the courage to stick up for her new friend, she closed her mouth. It wasn't like she could easily explain her suddenly positive opinion about him.

Denki sighed after realizing Jiro wasn't going to budge. "Fine", he said, dusting himself off, "Looks like we aren't going anywhere on this. Since we still have some time before lunch is over, I'm going to go check up on him. Want to help look?"

"I'm fine, lover boy," Jiro said with an eye roll, "go and see how's he's doing, you already gave me plenty of attention today." and waved him off. Denki grinned, leaned in and softly planted a kiss on her forehead before running off.

Jiro watched him for a moment, focused on his back, "I honestly don't know what he sees in that grape bowl, but I love watching the way he sticks up for his friends." Momo winced a bit at that. Staring at the blonde's back as well before looking down at her unfinished meal, a single though stuck with her,_ If only I could defend mine._

* * *

As Denki ran through the halls looking for his short friend, a familiar voice called out to him. Skidding to a halt, he took look around the corridor to pinpoint the owner. The voice couldn't have come from anyone else. Iida was fast walking towards the boy, with Uraraka and Midoriya following closely behind. Although Denki was getting an excuse ready to apologize quickly, Midoriya was already talking.

"Hey Kaminari! We just had a quick question to ask."

"And no running in the halls!" came the chastising tone of Iida before Denki could even answer, although Uraraka mercifully cut that short by placing a hand on his Iida's shoulder.

Although he always saw Midoriya as a nice guy, Denki also knew when the green-haired kid was trying to look into things. Needless to say, this was definitely one of those times. Bracing for the worst, he was hoping it wasn't what he had noticed this morning. "Sure man, what do you need?"

* * *

**And that's that! Wasn't sure where I wanted to end it on again, but I think it's an alright place to stop. I'm hoping to try and write less words a chapter so people can enjoy it more. As for the previous reviewers I'll try to answer in order of when I got them: **

**Guest 1: Thanks for the encouragement! I honestly love Mineta stories, but they tend to be few and far between, so if I can make a decent one I'd be all the happier for it.**

**Guest 2: Thanks and I really like your ideas. I want to do something with Aizawa and Recovery Girl specifically (since they are the ones who mainly pay attention) but it may take some time. I do like the idea of conflicting a bit with his original idea.**

**Harkenul: I want to hopefully show Mineta growing, not just tell it, but I think it'll take some time. I want to do a few other interesting things with the other kids, but it might be a chapter or three. **

**Thanks again, and be safe out there!**


	3. Chapter 3 : A Friendly Interrogation

**A/N Hey all, trying something different here. Going to build the next chapter up and see if I should separate it into these smaller bits. Tell me what you all think in the reviews. Thanks for reading as always and have a great and safe rest of your week!**

* * *

To say Denki felt a bit cornered right now would be an understatement. The hallways of UA are pretty open to allow students of all shapes and sizes through, but right now he was feeling them close in. The usually carefree group in front of him were expecting answer. He wasn't sure what was going on just yet, but if Midoriya and his group were asking about Mineta, his hunch was right and something was up with his friend.

"Look guys, I honestly don't know what you mean. I haven't noticed anything different with Mineta today other than how he has been recently." It wasn't really honest but he wasn't lying either. Mineta actually started studying and not using math class as a quick nap session but he has been doing that for a while. He wasn't sure if they had noticed Mineta's chipper mood earlier today, but he also wasn't about to say something to draw their attention to it either.

Oddly enough, Uraraka stepped forward and started speaking, "Denki, we know he's your friend and our classmate, but there's an important reason why we are asking."

"Woah, hold on, did something happen?" Kaminari had a feeling something put Mineta into high spirits this morning, but couldn't put a finger on what it was. They had pooled their money together for a limited edition Midnight figurine, but that wasn't due to come out for another four months. Jiro might have flipped had she found out, but it was supposed to be Mineta's early birthday present and a thanks to helping him with his dating worries.

Uraraka looked away from Kaminari and the two boys looked towards one another. Denki wasn't sure if they were going for the silent treatment on him or using telepathy to figure out their next plan.

Midoriya spoke up after a moment, "Kaminari, let's find a more private place to speak". With that, they all began to move towards a more quiet part of the school, although none of them noticed a final member further behind them using his short stature to his advantage.

Finding an unused room, they all sat down and continued where they left off. Denki noticed that apparently they were taking turns here, as Iida decided to talk next. "Truth be told, we too had noticed a drastic change in how he usually applies himself in general. Today he looked incredibly happy, and we suspect the reasons behind it are less than heroic. However, as for what could have happened, we honestly aren't at liberty to speak. Not with only conjecture. "

Although Iida spoke with conviction, it was clear the other two thought that it was off script. Midoriya had no small issue hiding his emotions when things went off the rails and Uraraka's jaw was lead. Iida looked back and realized his error. Denki knew something was up now, and he was going to get his answers.

"You have to be kidding me," fired up and ready, Denki went on the offensive, "you're going to come out of nowhere, start grilling me about my friend being in a good mood of all things, and when I ask why, you claim something bad might have caused it but you can't tell me about it? You go as far to accuse him of "something unheroic" even though he's actually trying now? That you are only going off of rumors or something? What kind of crap is that?"

Midoriya stepped forward with his arms up to try and placate Denki," W-w-we didn't mean anything bad by it, Kaminari. We are sorry we can't say what happened, but the person we were talking to asked that we didn't say a-"

"A person?" Denki couldn't keep track of all these revelations at once. "You didn't say anything about a person. Be honest with me here. Are you really how he's doing or are you saying he did something terrible to somebody? What's going on here, guys?"

The tension could be cut with a knife. The three looked at each other. It was clear that the conversation wasn't being steered their way. Kaminari wasn't giving them the answer they were looking for and thanks to the slip up he is starting to ask too many questions. Midoriya sensed that much more and Kaminari would leave without giving any substantive answers. If that were the case, he needs to act quickly. Anything at this point would be better than nothing.

"Well, we can't really say for sure, because we aren't sure how everything fits, "Midoriya finally admitted, "but you said he's been improving himself, right? Did you notice when he started doing that?"

Denki didn't like this. Mineta is a self-admitted horn dog, sure, but they're acting like he went out and murdered someone for fun. To top it off, they were still trying to get something out of him without anything in return. They may have their reasons, but Mineta is his friend, and that means he wants to know what's going on too. Maybe if he gives them something they might give something back in return.

Pausing for a moment in case he wanted to say something else, but ultimately giving up, Denki answered, "Honestly I don't know when for real. Only that it was maybe a month or two ago. He started getting more serious about training to hone his reaction time and accuracy mainly, but that's about all I know."

Although Uraraka and even Midoriya looked like they were about to say something, it was Iida who replied soonest. "I see, well if that's all you know, it can't be helped. Sorry that we worried you about this, Kaminari. It is almost time to head back to class, so we should all start moving quickly".

His two other friends both stopped and understood what Iida meant. They probably weren't going to get anywhere asking Denki and to top it off Iida was also clearly worried about being late for class. Trying to lighten the mood as they walked out, Uraraka started asking about how Jiro was doing and if they had a date that weekend. She already knew the details, but she wanted to see Denki's reaction as well. Leaving the class room behind and rounding a corner, they didn't notice the four sticky globes attached to the outside of the door they had just gone through, though not a soul in sight to claim ownership.

Though he was having a laugh with Uraraka about how embarrassed he was even on their fourth date so far, Denki was also thinking back. He didn't put two and two together at the time, but the broccoli gang interrogation jogged his memory. Truth was, he knew the exact day Mineta made his drastic changes. He also knew that the night prior he claimed he was going to pay one of the girls a late night visit. Denki didn't pay it much mind at the time, because it sounded like he was screwing around, but the way his classmates came to him in private is eating at him. _Damn it Mineta, I hope you didn't do something stupid._

* * *

**A/N And that's pretty much that! Looking at it, I thought this was a decent place to stop. I figure that the last thing the Deku Crew would want is for Denki to spill the beans, but they had to take a risk if they thought something was going wrong. Not sure how Mineta will get out of their watchful gaze, but he probably doesn't appreciate this type of attention. As usual leave reviews and tell me what you think!**


	4. Chapter 4: After School Tutoring

**A/N Doing another quickish chapter here, hoping to be able to shorten these things and tell more with less. Feel free to leave a review and tell me what you think about where this is going. All thoughts are appreciated. Enjoy the rest of your spring break!**

* * *

While the group of four went one way, Mineta scampered down a different hall as fast as his feet could carry him. He was happy that Denki defended him, but hearing how the others were suspicious of his better mood and linked it up with him doing something awful to Momo scared him.

_Could you imagine that? Me? Doing something awful to Momo? When have I ever...Damn it, I guess I can see why they would think that, but come on! I've never done anything to hurt her! Let a guy turn a new leaf in peace! _

Rounding another corner on his way to class, Mineta slammed into someone. Although he was more hopeful that he ran into a cute girl than anything else (a choice at least would have been nice), the color drained from his face as he saw it was Bakugo instead, ready to explode as he turned to meet the unknown assailant.

"Who the hell thought they could bump into me and not apologize!?"

"Shit, Bakugo I'm sorry! I didn't mean to run into you. I was just trying to make it to class!" With these rapid fire apologies, Mineta was hoping to stop the brunt of the blonde's anger. Truth be told, he has only watched Izuku try to apologize to Bakugo like this. Admittedly, he has never seen it work, but maybe giving him what he asked for might do the trick.

Bakugo, now only scowling, stopped for a moment. Looking down at his shorter classmate he replied, "Oh it's just you, hairballs."

"The name's Mineta." _Damn it, I get that I don't look threatening, but at least try to pretend I'm not only a stepping stone!_

"Whatever, just watch where you're going, moron." Bakugo was about to head towards the class before Mineta ran up to cut him off. The scowl deepened and Mineta somehow turned even paler, but he had swallowed just enough fear to speak.

"Listen, I don't know why you helped me, but I just wanted to say thank you. She accepted my apology. I wasn't sure if it would even work, but even if she had never said a word to me again, it felt good being able to do that. You gave me the extra push I needed."

Bakugo just closed his eyes for a moment, took in a breath and opened them again, the scowl turning just slightly more neutral. "I told you before, balls for brains, it ain't any of my damn business. Just don't fuck it up in the open again."

"W-wait!" Mineta was poking the tiger now, but he had to know, "I just wanted to ask why you helped? It just seems odd, you know?"

Bakugo immediately blew up, "Who the hell said I can't help people, huh?! We're trying to be heroes, right? If I want to do something it's not any of your business!"

Mineta became microscopic under the explosive anger. He knew it would have been a touchy subject even in private. For now it was probably best to back off. Staying well clear of Bakugo's blast radius, Mineta let the now fuming classmate pass.

The scowling boy made his way halfway down the hall but stopped for one final word. "You should focus on what your goal is instead of worrying about what others think." Satisfied with getting the last word in, he continued walking off.

Mineta was left dumbfounded with the surprisingly sagely advice. _That sounded almost Kirishima levels of manly at first. Really, that advice is pretty great if I was trying to become a super model or train for a martial arts tournament. But who the hell am I kidding? If the goodie two-shoe crew decide to tell a teacher about what I did, it won't matter what anyone thinks. I'll probably be expelled! _

As he ran to class to avoid being late, he thought back to Momo. Seeing her text this morning made up for all of the anxiousness and worry he experienced yesterday evening. Even the usual, boring walk to class earlier had him floating on clouds, but the friendly smile he received even with Midoriya looking stood out as today's highlight. Speaking of the green haired classmate, seeing his jaw turn to lead with that smirk was great as well, but now Mineta was regretting that decision. _Even if he deserved it for playing the nosy protagonist, I shouldn't have done it. I got way too cocky and if my luck is as good as it usually is, I'll be paying for it sooner rather than later! _

Walking into the class and trying to ignore the stares from not just Deku's gang and Bakugo, but apparently Denki and even Jiro as well, Mineta quickly scrambled to his seat before Aizawa woke back up. Momo didn't give him a smile like she had this morning, but she did make eye contact.

To most people the eyes of the tall beauty were more intense than they would prefer. Her neutral look was an almost glare, and coupled with her height it would be enough for others who didn't know her to even shrink under it. As a true connoisseur of beauty, Mineta was enraptured with how they looked even before he got to know her. Even her actual glare was enough to send his heart into overdrive, but just now seeing her eyes soften just a bit made up for all the hardships he was put through since he joined this crazy school. It may have only been platonic to her, but he didn't care. Seeing them replacing the generally neutral or disdaining look she used to give him was an oasis to a desert.

Despite the conspiracy amongst his classmates, he at least had something to look forward to this weekend. During his run, he received a text. Momo felt bad for how everything happened, and figured lunch at a small restaurant would be a great change of pace from the usual meetings. With this, he had what wanted. Something most of the other students in his grade could only dream of, a date with Momo! _Well_, he thought to himself, _not really a date, but it's a start! She may have rejected me before, but maybe if I play my cards right..._

Just like that, his train of thought halted completely. _Damn it, how the hell do I go from half-assed friend to boyfriend? I'm only able talk with her over texts and at the weekend meetups, not to mention the others are actually paying attention to what I'm doing now too. If any of them caught us, there's no easy way to explain that. Who's going to believe Yaoyorozu Momo went to lunch with me of all people? I'd have a better chance of telling the class that Midoriya and Bakugo are a couple and living to see tomorrow!_

UA was well known for creating mountains for their students to climb over, but Mineta trying to romance Momo of all people may as well have been Mount Everest. There may have been no such thing as an easy battle, but is he even a fighter on this battlefield? There was no shortage of guys who crushed on her, but even in his class the competition was fierce. He knew Todoroki was the bane of every man trying to win a girl's heart in this school. The only saving grace in that regard was that he was so engrossed in stepping out of his dad's shadow that women weren't on his mind_. Lucky punk, if you're not going to use your looks and your height, I sure could borrow some. _It suddenly hit him. He shouldn't worry about other guys just yet. Surprising even himself, he realized what he should try to focus on. _I need to see this from Momo's point of view_.

Try as he might though, he couldn't really think about what Momo was looking for in a guy. She certainly had a nice variety in this class alone. Strong silent types, manly confidence, pure innocence, plainness. _If this were a dating sim, she would have hit the jackpot. So why hasn't she collected her winnings yet?_ _Speaking of winnings, what about me?_ _Well, I'm definitely winning out on shortest guy in the school, but that doesn't really seem to be her thing. At least I can keep her interested in our conversations, but I can't tell if it's because she doesn't have to explain stuff multiple times or if she is more starved for attention than I am. _As he stared off into space as class droned on, his brain was trying to find the equation to go from holding her attention to receiving her affection. Unfortunately, Aizawa seemed to skip over that chapter in lieu of more theoretical mathematics.

Speaking of teachers, an angrier version of the man in question appeared in front of Mineta's desk. "Are you going to answer the question, Mineta, or are you too busy daydreaming?"

The quick giggle from Ashido was quickly silenced with a glare as Aizawa turned to bear down on the now shaking student. "If you can't maintain your situational awareness long enough to realize you were next in line to answer or react after I called your name twice, perhaps some after-school tutoring will be more effective."

There was no point in arguing. All Mineta could do was nod while the stares from his classmates only compounded the humiliation.

* * *

As class ended for the day and everyone else slowly shuffled out, including Aizawa for his own reasons, Momo lingered for just a moment to send him a text message telling him not to worry. Mineta typed a quick thanks after she left, knowing full well that he hadn't much more time before Aizawa would be back in the room to give him hell.

Placing the phone back into his pocket, Mineta lounged back in his chair and waited for his punishment. The classmates were one thing, but pissing off the teachers was a different story. For all he knew Midoriya already told Aizawa about what happened. _The punk wouldn't dare. He wouldn't sell a friend out, right? I AM a friend, right?_ Looking down at his desk, Mineta knew his classmates at least tolerated him or were friendly enough, but he could count actual friends on one hand, and it only doubled these last couple of months. _Of course the one time I need people to care is when I can't tell a soul. Hope this isn't the universe trying to get back at me, I think I already suffered enough in this year alone. Well at least it can't get that much worse._

The thought hadn't even finished, as the classroom door opened again. Standing in the doorway was not only Aizawa, but also a much shorter, familiar figure.

"Mineta, do you mind if we have a talk?" Recovery Girl gently asked the short boy still at his desk.

_Oh. I guess it can._

* * *

**And that's the end of that. Hoping to really try and get into Mineta's thinking and what caused his change, or to see how Momo is holding up. Maybe both, which will lead to a chunkier chapter. If you guys want to see that just say something. Again, thanks for taking the time to read this, and have a wonderful day!**


	5. Chapter 5: The Talk

**A/N: Sorry it's been so long. I was hoping to release an entire chapter, but the whole thing took up at least 5k Words. I'll be uploading the main portion once school work is a little less busy taking me for a trip. Stay safe out there everyone, leave a review if you want, and enjoy the rest of your day!**

* * *

Mineta couldn't lie. He was more than a bit scared thinking about all the possibilities as to why Recovery Girl and Aizawa were both talking to him. As Recovery Girl found a suitable seat near Mineta, Aizawa closed the door quietly behind him.

"Mineta, do you know why we are here right now?" Aizawa's voice held a certain sternness mixed in with his more deadpan tone. Mineta, however, knew far more could be added if he didn't get what he felt like was an honest answer.

Mineta quietly replied," I don't know why, Mr Aizawa, "he was only able to look down at the desk, but his neck burned as he lied through his teeth.

Although his teacher looked as if he was ready to start raking Mineta over the coals, Recovery Girl stopped him in his tracks.

"Really Eraser Head, don't frighten the poor boy just to coax it out of him, I thought we agreed on that! Minoru, please, we only want to have a word with you." Recovery girl, placed a gentle hand on Mineta's own. Looking to the pro turned teacher, she added, "Aizawa, you were the one who noticed first, so you should at least tell him the truth."

"Wait, I'm sorry, but what is this all about?" Mineta was clearly lost now. "Wasn't this because I was daydreaming instead of paying attention in class?"

Aizawa replied," Well not exactly, Mineta. You see, I noticed a while back that you suddenly started to actively participate in class."

"That's not against the rules, is it? Maybe I just really enjoy answering questions now!"

A quick glare from his homeroom teacher silenced him, although a look from Recovery Girl ensured it wouldn't be made the main point of contention.

"Continuing on, it wasn't only that. You have also started working much harder in the physical portions of the curriculum and even asked for permission to practice in the gym after hours. It felt like you were finally taking heroics a lot more seriously, but what wasn't quite adding up was a reason for it. Your daydreaming today wasn't the issue, but you should pay more attention in class."

Sorry about that," Mineta apologized sheepishly before it finally hit him, "Wait, you mean to tell me that all of this is because I'm acting a little different?"

Aizawa and Recovery Girl looked at one another for a moment, before Recovery Girl sighed and took over speaking.

"It does sound like we are treating you wrongly here, but please understand, Minoru. Our job here at UA is to not only teach but to watch over all students and their progress as well. It's not so much the need to know exactly why, but a renewed sense of purpose can be for a multitude of reasons, you see."

Mineta looked to be mulling it over, but nodded quickly. As he didn't add anything, Recovery Girl continued.

"The reasons can range from a new mindset or goal to something traumatic. We just want to make sure you're okay mentally and emotionally as you continue to grow into a hero."

Mineta was honestly surprised and relieved. "So you just want to make sure I'm okay?" he asked.

"Yes, Mineta." Aizawa told the short schoolboy. "As your teacher, your safety and wellbeing come first. You and your classmates may each have problems to overcome, but none of you would be here if we didn't think you were cut out to be a hero."

Mineta sort of figured that was the case, but that didn't mean his heart wasn't soaring right now. Recognition can do that to one who doesn't receive it very often. He paused for a second to think things over, but eventually spoke.

"Well if I can be honest," Mineta started, looking down at the desk now, "what happened to me wasn't really traumatic, but it did change me in a way."

"Oh? Go on, dearie."

"I guess it was more that my goal changed than myself, or more accurately my new goal started changing how I do things."

Recovery Girl was intrigued now, and couldn't help but try to get him to expand. "Ah yes, if I recall correctly, your goal was to be popular with the ladies right?"

Thinking back on it caused Mineta to blush as he ran a hand through his hair. _I guess she watched over the final exams and heard me when I was fighting Midnight._ "Y-yeah, I mean, that was my goal, but it's different now."

Seeing both his homeroom teacher and school nurse lean in caused him to shrink into his seat so much he couldn't help but voice his discomfort.

"Is it really that surprising?" His telltale exasperation revealed itself as his pitch rose almost an octave and volume increased to match.

"Well, to be honest child, "Recovery Girl replied with an almost motherly tone, "most people change themselves or their ideals at their most basic level only after a life altering event, usually a fight or flight moment."

Calming down, Mineta gave out what he thought was the right answer, "Like the USJ incident?"

"Exactly. The reason 1-A handled the hurdles the school threw at them so readily was because of that experience. Whether it was handling the discomfort of facing the unknown, the building of confidence, or the reaffirming or changing of goals, it is a wonderful example of this being the case. Only now... "

Aizawa took over from there, "Only now you are saying that what happened here wasn't traumatic, which is what we would put an event like the USJ Incident under for the average person. If that's the case, it's more likely that you experienced something that gave you a lot of inner reflection. Could you tell us what that is?"

Mineta could see what was happening now. They knew something happened but not specifically what it was. He wanted to claim it was nothing. He wanted to say that everything was fine, but all he could see was that long night two months ago.

Swallowing his fear for the second time today, Mineta locked eyes with his teacher. "If it's all the same to both you and Recovery Girl, Mr. Aizawa, I'm sorry. I honestly am, but it's something very personal. I can at least promise you that it is really nothing to worry about. All it did was make me think about who I am and what I really want to do."

Mineta could barely think. He said that like a child. Hell, he almost sounded like a more mild-mannered Bakugo! He was expecting Aizawa to be especially angry at how rudely he worded it, but it looked like the adults were more curious than anything. Aizawa walked over and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

Giving up on getting much more on that subject out of him, Eraser Head instead went with something the schoolboy at least seemed more willing to speak about, "If that is the case, Mineta, then can we instead ask what it is that you want to do?"

For reasons unknown to himself, Mineta was split on how to answer. He was hoping originally to make up a lie for this and had a few he probably could have used, but at that moment he could only see Momo's dark hair framing her beautiful face and a smile that could illuminate the night sky. He wanted to tell her how much he appreciated her. He wanted to have the freedom to talk with her more, without worrying about the other students, the teachers, or anyone else. To just sit down and have lunch with her, to walk around the halls with her, to not be a pariah. Even with that, he was still thinking of lying. His teacher showing that he does in fact care, however, was the straw that broke the camel's back. Taking in all of this at once, he knew what he was going to say.

Knowing he was only setting himself up for failure later, he finally admitted, "I guess the only difference now is that instead of wanting to be popular with the ladies, I just want to have a specific one notice me." Realizing how silly it sounded, the short boy lost all the confidence he built up for himself. Looking down at the desk all he could muster afterwards was, "Pretty stupid, right?"

Luckily, Recovery Girl was quick to take this opportunity to better shape the boy's perceptions of his new goal, while wording it only a little differently. Relaxing into her seat she answered, "Being heroic for the sake of another is quite an admirable thing, child. Keep striving and committing to that new goal and remember if you need any help or want to talk, the teachers here all are here for you".

"Wait, you mean it's not a dumb goal?" _Actually it kind of sounded nice the way she put it_, Mineta thought. Still, he was more than a bit surprised the two teachers didn't laugh him out of the room. His face even kind of looked like he was waiting for them catch the punchline.

Aizawa thankfully placed him back on the right track. "How committed you stay to your goal is what is truly important. Whatever happened to cause the change will only truly matter to you. Use that newfound strength to reach greater and greater heights."

As Mineta reflected at the advice he was receiving, he saw his goal in a new light. For the first time, it didn't sound that cheesy after all. The more he thought about it, the more he thought about how great it would be for Momo to notice him for the right reasons. _Maybe this is what Midoriya means whenever he says he wants to save everyone… that sort of thing might be a bit much for me, but hopefully I can reach some of Momo's expectations. _Even with the new burst of confidence, the back of his mind wasted no time in pointing out that Momo's affection will probably be even harder than that for him to win.

Realizing his student was just trying to digest all of this new info, Aizawa decided to let him off the hook for once. "Just pay attention more in class. It was more an excuse to speak with you this time, but screw around during class time again and you'll wish you were expelled on the first day when I'm through."

"O-of course! Thanks for the talk you guys! I feel like a brand new man!" Mineta practically leapt out of his chair for joy. _I can't believe it!_ _This wasn't so bad after all. _With a quick, almost forgotten bow Mineta left as fast as he could. He at least wanted to tell Momo that there was nothing to worry about over a text.

Aizawa couldn't help but sigh. "I wish he would at least act as if he was in trouble. Still, if he actually puts forth an effort to reach his goal, I don't think we'll have much to worry about."

Recovery Girl only nodded, glad that the child wasn't suffering from any obvious trauma. _Still_, she thought,_ he has his work cut out for him if he wants to use being a hero to get a specific person to notice him. Hopefully he won't lose sight of being a hero if it backfires._

As Mineta went toward the stairway that lead to the closest exit, he couldn't help but focus on the night he and Momo finally spoke one on one. It was always on his mind these days, especially the relaxing conversation that finally opened up a friendship between them. What he was remembering now though, was what happened before that. The part he tried to wipe from his thoughts to no avail. Even as he was texting her while making his way back to the dorms, the cloud covered sky only further let him get caught up in that memory better left forgotten.

* * *

"Hey Denki this game is fun and all, but I think I'll take a break for now."

"C'mon Mineta, you're not going to try and say you have somewhere to be this late at night?"

Kaminari was sprawled out on his bed, controller in hand. Usually he would be right. If he and Mineta weren't hanging out at this hour, they'd be doing their own thing, which usually meant sleeping by now.

"I'm always busy, man, but I've got a date with one of the girls tonight". For added effect, Mineta stuck a thumb to his puffed out his chest.

Denki rolled his eyes at the bad joke but continued playing, "Alright man, I'm about to hit the hay too. Get some rest and don't spend all night watching vids."

Mineta walked out of Kaminari's room and made a bee-line for the dorm's co-ed common area. Thanks to it being so late it looked like everyone went to bed already. Well, everyone except for one particular girl. Denki didn't really pay much mind as he was busy eyeing his brand new game when they walked in, but Mineta could spot a pretty girl even just in his peripherals. Such skills he would often be told would be far more useful to hero work, but he had his own goals to think about. For instance, noticing Momo studying alone the past couple of nights. The mastery of that skill kept him from drawing attention to himself, even when a few others would be on their toes with him around. He wasn't so sure how to handle his next step. Having Momo by herself was a treat in its own right, as Jiro usually stuck to her like a magnet, but it looked like Mina and Toru were taking up most of her time right now. With her out of the way, he was free to do as he pleased, provided Momo was still buried in her books.

As he made his way down the steps, he wondered what kept her up so late. _What the hell could she even be studying, _he thought to himself_, beauty and brains in spades and she still wastes all her free time hitting the books? I'm not even half as smart as her and I know that's pointless_. Still, despite his opinion on her choice of late night activity, this was an opportunity that couldn't go to waste.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for your patience, I'll get the next portion sent out as soon as I am done.**

**Also to the Guest reviewer: She might suggest something later if he comes back to her again. I have some ideas of where I want this to go. Also, I felt weird having to choose between Sensei or using Mr. to show respect. Any word on which would be preferred? I am use to the Japanese dub, so that's what I wanted to go with. Let me know what you think.**


	6. Chapter 6 : The Long Night

**A/N: Going to just apologize ahead of time for the word count. Hope people are actually enjoying this.**

**If you don't feel free to leave a review telling me why. If you are, go ahead and tell me your thoughts! As always have a good one.**

* * *

There she was in all her glory. Thanking every deity he could remember offhand for this moment, Mineta crept ever closer.

Momo still sat on the same couch with her back turned from him. Even this far out, he saw how hard she was studying. Multiple books lying on the table, a pencil in hand, and an eraser in easy reach. Hairballs held white knuckle tight, he already had a plan formed in that short span of time. Carefully placing them as handholds against the couch, he slowly climbed it. _A mountain, _he laughed to himself, _this is nothing but a speed bump for the real prize. Plus Ultra!_ With his new vantage point, and holding his breath, he saw his landing. Right into her lap and onto her doubtlessly soft thighs. He could see she was still fixated at one book in particular and would be too busy to notice anything else.

Although he was busy envisioning how wonderful the head first landing would be, for some reason his mind took an odd turn. Looking down (or at least, at her eye level), he saw she had stopped for a moment to look over the page of a particular book. The chapter at the top read, "Being a Better Hero"

Usually something as trivial as a cheesy chapter name wouldn't even register as a blip on his radar. He was already great, why would he need to be better? Yet despite that mindset, something else popped into his mind. He thought about what he was doing. Where he was right now, and where he would go from there. _Great,_ he thought,_ I land in the lap of the hottest girl in school. Then what, Mineta? Best case scenario, she shoots me out of one of those giant cannons she is so fixated on. The only question is if that's before or after I get expelled_. Watching her again as she paused her studying, he noticed with her eyes shut and furrowing her brows in thought. _She really is focused on being a hero, isn't she? For once, Mineta couldn't help but realize how badly this would bother her. Is any of this really what a hero would do?_

He felt something he never felt before whenever he went after his classmates. He felt honest-to-God regret. _She's actually studying her ass off here, and I was going to ruin that for her._ That final thought might have been what broke his otherwise tenacious attitude towards all things of the fairer sex. Suddenly he had no desire to continue with any of it. The last ball he had dropped from his hands and landed with a soft plop as it stuck to the floor.

Momo jerked her head to the noise and audibly gasped. She had just reached an interesting portion of her book and thought not a soul was still awake in the dorms except her. That person being Mineta didn't help the situation. Trying to not offend even her perverted classmate, she attempted to apologize for her audible shock.

"I'm sorry about that, it's late and I thought everyone went to bed." Scooting a good few inches away, she continued, "What are you doing up, Mineta?"

He froze at hearing her question. There he stood, having a vantage point on an unaware girl with his reputation and she had to ask that. _I know she's smarter than that, unless she knows and wants me to admit it? But wouldn't she be angrier if she knew what I was doing? _He wanted to disarm this situation if he could.

"Oh, just taking my evening walk. Have to get the blood flowing to my legs, otherwise I'll never grow!"

The excuse was shit. The smile tacked on to the end couldn't save it. He knew and the neutral look on her face changing slowly into a frown told him that she knew it too.

"Is that so?" The hands sitting above her thighs balled into fists. "Do you usually take walks along couches where others are studying? Or is it only if they are girls?"

"Maybe I like taking in the scenery along the way!" Mineta's voice was starting to raise in pitch, as his nervousness was slowly building up. He had no one to shift the blame to. Above all else, he was ashamed. He was ashamed and nothing he thought of in that eternity of that moment could change it.

Momo just looked at him, her eyes mixing in different emotions the longer she did so. Finally, exasperated, she asked what her rearing would have usually kept her from asking, "Why is it so tough for you to be a good person? Is it so tough to just act decent for one day?" She hesitated for a moment, but quietly asked, "Aren't you trying to be a hero too?"

Usually something like that wouldn't even be a scratch to his ego. He lived through middle school despite his height and quirk. But it was just something in her eyes when she said it. Annoyance and even anger were there in spades, anyone could see that, but he also saw what looked like disappointment. Like she expected a little better from him. That and the bit about being a hero might have been what cut into him so badly just now. It hurt and now he was angry.

"Well excuse me," a sneer crossed his face as he replied, "I didn't know you were the one who decided what is and isn't heroic! How about giving a guy a break for once?"

Momo couldn't believe his audacity. He was the one who snuck up on her. He was the one with all of those perverted thoughts, and now he's giving her that awful expression, because she didn't let him get away with it? She was here slaving away trying to live up to the expectations of herself and her family and become a great hero! Yet he wants to say this perverted scheme of his was heroic? In what regard? She wasn't sure where it came from, but something in her was ready to give everything back to him, and then some.

"You're one to talk! Have you ever thought about the people you hurt doing things like this? If you want the attention of your female classmates, why don't you try acting like a better person?"

Tears were growing quickly in his eyes now. He could barely see her, but he wasn't going to take that sitting down. "Easy for you to say Yaoyorozu! You're attractive, you're rich, and you have personality! Look at me, Momo. You think girls are going to give me the time of day just because I act a little like Midoriya? That's not how it works at all! "

"Maybe it would be a start, Mineta!" Momo's emotions were being swept up with his anger, increasing her volume in an effort to get through to him. "People would actually enjoy your company and be happy to hold a conversation with you. Did that ever cross your mind?"

He could hear what she was saying but the only parts coming through were the insults. They were yelling now, every new rebuttal chipping away at one another.

"Oh really? Would you respect me anymore than you claim to do now? Would you sit there and actually enjoy my 'company'? Don't make me laugh!"

Momo, was taken aback at this. She wanted to tell him he was wrong, or that the self-reflection shouldn't be directed at her right now, but there was some truth to those words. Despite that, the thoughts of every prank, scheme, and act of depravity he pulled came to her just now. She couldn't let a new one slide.

"I'd at least talk with you on more friendly terms if you had walked up to me just now and said hello! Instead of that, you snuck behind me like a predator! What would you have gained out of this?"

"I don't know! Don't you get it? I know that it wasn't heroic, Momo, that's why I stopped!"

It came out quick. It was almost too quick for her to catch, but it stopped her dead in her tracks. She was ready for another excuse but this threw even her off. With more than a little surprise in her voice than she meant she asked, "What do you mean, stopped?"

Mineta sighed, the tears were still there, but the fight was gone. With nothing else keeping him there, he slid down the couch on the opposite end of where she was and took a seat. "It's just like I told you. I don't know why. I just didn't want to go through with my plan anymore."

Momo shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She would be a bit weary of this (it wouldn't be the first time he lied), but there was something about how he looked, it almost reminded her of how she felt after losing to Tokoyami. He looked completely lost and defeated.

Somewhat curious and almost pitying him, she inched a little closer. "What changed exactly, Mineta? It wouldn't have been before you walked down here, otherwise you wouldn't have climbed up the couch."

Listlessly, Mineta reached for the oldest book she had on the table. Turning to what he saw before, he pointed out the chapter title for her to see. "Watching how hard you were working was part of it, but I'm pretty sure it was because of this." Looking down at the name of the chapter, he continued, "Being a better hero my ass, I can't even hold a candle half the people here on a good day."

Momo looked down to her feet as he said this. She was more than familiar with the feeling of staring at the others' backs. Even with her helping her struggling classmates, many excelled at the practical portion of the heroics compared to her. Was he just as lost as she was? Reaching out, she gently took the book and closed it softly.

Mineta never had a chance to see the book closed before, but now he saw just how old it was. It wasn't ripped, but certainly faded from use. Clearly the owner cared dearly for it. He noticed a triumphant looking Crimson Riot standing stoically on the front, with the words, _Anyone Can be a Hero!_ proudly curved along the top half of the book.

Momo glanced down at the faded cover for a moment before she quietly spoke, "I'm actually surprised that this book in particular is what caused you to change your mind, Mineta. As a child, my parents went out of their way to make sure I had everything I could ever need or want. The most gifted tutors, the newest toys, their support and love as parents. Unlike the stereotype of the affluent, they told me that I could be anything and to pursue what makes me happy."

Mineta wasn't used to hearing how soft her voice was when she was reminiscing like this. The look in her eyes wasn't the anger, annoyance, or even the disappointment directed at him from earlier. She looked distant as her eyes began welling up. All he could do was nod as she spoke.

"It's the same no matter the background, I guess. Like any other child, the second I knew what a hero was, I knew that was what I wanted to be. My parents were surprised, but they were there for me every step of the way. This was the first book I ever received from my parents, just a simple birthday gift. Even though I was only just learning to read." she trailed off.

_Oh right, she probably could read it front and back, even as a kid._ This was the first time Mineta saw Momo in a new light. He never heard her talk about her past like this. As she stared off, tracing the cover's lettering, he couldn't help but wonder if anyone else knew about this.

After a moment, Momo looked down intensely at the book, her fingers gripping the faded cover. "They tried to replace it early on, once the cover started losing its shine and the pages turned yellow. I told them how much it meant to me though, so eventually they gave up on it. It was one of first things I packed up when we moved into the dormitories. Even at my lowest, it was something tangible I could hold onto, a reminder to never give up."

She looked over at him now, realizing how much she had rambled. Wiping a tear from her eye with a soft laugh, she said, "It must seem pretty silly to care so much about a dumb book. It's just funny that this stopped you when nothing else usually would."

"N-no way, Momo. It's actually pretty cool to see that side of you! But, I don't think the book is dumb if you kept it on you all these years. It means a lot to you, right? Besides, it can't be that bad if it caused me to stop."

"Thank you, Mineta", as she chuckled at the cheesy joke, Momo noticed it didn't feel as weird to say it as she thought it would be. "Honestly I could recite passages in this book from memory, but even holding the book itself is a comfort."

Having the prettiest girl in school open up to you about her life was no small thing to a kid in high school. Mineta wanted this moment to last forever. He was finally getting to know Momo and it was the single greatest feeling of his life. More importantly, it wasn't forced. She isn't just tolerating him until he leaves, they're having a conversation. It was almost as natural as talking to Denki, only the subject matter felt much more delicate and important than just how cute a girl they saw in the halls were.

He was afraid to ask at first, but went for it anyway. "Actually, Momo, if you wouldn't mind, could you tell me a little bit about the book? It probably sounds stupid that I'm asking but I wouldn't mind hearing your thoughts on it."

The second he finished, he felt thought she was going to laugh him out of the room, but she smiled warmly instead. "You're truly interested? Here, let me show you some of my favorite sections!"

Scooting even closer, she opened up immediately to the page she was reading before their conversation and began talking about it. Usually being this close to a girl would be too much for Mineta, but her enthusiasm for the book was contagious, and before long he was finding parts he liked as well.

As the night continued on they spoke on a variety of topics covered in the other books Momo was reading. Mineta loved how she took even the complicated portions and made them easier to understand, and Momo enjoyed being able to bounce off ideas and conclusions to someone who didn't find the content boring or too complicated.

Eventually they realized how late it was and told each other good night, but not before agreeing to meet the next weekend. Exchanging phone numbers for easier contact, Mineta told her that was worried about how the others would respond, and told her it would be best to keep it a secret.

Momo agreed, however, she was more worried about what would happen if the others found out for other reasons. _This was actually a side of Mineta I don't think anyone has seen before. If the others find out, they may not believe he was being genuine, I can barely believe it myself. I'd rather not see the consequences of misplaced concern for me._ She may have felt bad thinking so lowly of a classmate, but it's hard to argue her appreciation of the conversation they had when all of their other interactions were far worse for her. Still, even though this was a large worry for her, she didn't dare voice that concern out loud. _Just be content that this is a first step in an honest change, Yaoyorozu, she told herself_. She went to bed with an odd mixture of feelings and wasn't sure if regret for future problems wasn't there as well.

On the other hand, Mineta was smiling ear to ear after the conversation. He didn't care that there was going to be early morning exercises and that it was already 1 in the morning. He was only inches away from a girl and talking to her, one on one. Suddenly he realized something. _I guess she only really did it because I wasn't being an ass. If I'm going to get the chance to talk with her more, I need to show her even I can be a great hero too._ Sitting down at his computer for a moment, Mineta searched online for a copy of her book. He wanted to ask if he could borrow it, but realized she might need it and chose to not bother. Finally finding a copy online, he read the opening chapter before being too tired to go on.

Even with pouring rain and a late night, Mineta never slept so well in all of his life.

* * *

It was another lively evening over in the dormitories common area. Even with 20 high school students on a regular day, there was still plenty of space for everyone. It wouldn't be uncommon for some to unwind after a long day of class in the common area's kitchen and dining area. If it wasn't helping Momo make tea or Sato bake a new treat to hone his skills, someone might try their hand at making a meal for themselves or their small group of friends. The counter also did a great job as a substitute study table in a pinch. Even though almost everyone was enjoying themselves, eventually the topic of shortest boy in the school popped up.

"So, how long do you think Aizawa will hold Mineta back for?" Mina giggled to no one in particular as she rested her head against the table.

Sero joined in, sitting nearby, "Hopefully not as long as the training camp remedial classes." Even though they smiled, both shuddered thinking back to those late nights. Villain attack or not, Eraser Head was in a league of his own with that sort of torture.

"C'mon guys, he probably had something important on his mind," Kirishima gave his two cents on the situation as he sat down next to Mina, handing a bottle of water to her.

Taking a quick swing from the bottle, Mina replied, "Thanks, that really hit the spot." Her expression took on a strangely serious manner before she added, "But you know, I'm kind of doubting how important it actually was. Might have been deep into one of _those_ daydreams. You know how all guys think." As she finished with a smirk and playful tap on Kirishima's shoulders, it was obvious how happy she was piling on the implications for Kirishima to wrap his head around later.

Denki was leaning a bit more on Kirishima's side and hoping they would leave Mineta and his thoughts be, "He'll probably be okay. It might take a while and he'll definitely get an earful, but it's almost a badge of honor to get chewed out by Aizawa and live."

Most of the others laughed at that, and the conversation went in other directions.

On the other side of the room, Momo was trying her best to relax even as everyone else was wondering what torture her friend was going through. Even Tsu and Ochaco weren't completely immune to talking about it.

Ignoring the conversations for now and reading his thankfully concise texts, it seems Mineta wasn't in trouble after all. In fact, all he really had to deal with was a nice long talk with Aizawa and Recovery Girl. It was kind of nice to hear he was doing well and even heading back, but he also sent a second message.

_Momo, I'm gonna be honest, I'm a bit worried about what to do from here with the others. It's only Monday and it's like I put a giant target on the back of my head. What do you think about matching up Midoriya to keep him busy?_

Momo felt bad for Mineta's situation. She didn't know all of it, but she saw the looks almost half the class, including Bakugo was giving him when he came back from lunch. The only one who looked genuinely concerned was Denki. Still, she couldn't imagine what made him think the solution to the problem that was partially his fault was to pair students together until they could talk in peace. _Maybe I should tell people he's really a sincere and decent person, minus the occasional perversion. That should be all anyone really needs right?_ She realized quickly that his... history might mean everyone else would need a lot more convincing. Looking again at his second message, she figured she could at start with telling Mineta everything will be fine. _I need to at least tell him not to continue acting like a purple cupid._

"Momo, could we talk for a moment?" A usually cheery voice from behind caused her to nearly drop her phone. Clutching it in her hands, she turned to face a rather concerned looking Ochaco.

Having little reason not to, she nodded. Seeing Momo's affirmation put a more common smile back on the round face. Telling Tsu that they would be back in a second, the two went down the hallway of the girl's section of the dorms with Ochaco leading. Feeling secluded enough, the gravity girl turned to face Momo.

"Sorry to drag you all the way out here, Momo. Just wanted to ask you if everything is okay."

"What do you mean Uraraka? Everything is going well." Momo could barely keep the confusion from showing on her face. _Is she only talking about last weekend or did something happen to Minoru today?_

"Well I just mean", Ochaco fumbled her words for a moment but pressed on, "we're friends, right Yaoyorozu? We could tell each other anything, right?"

Now Momo was really lost. Knowing she at least needed to get to the bottom of things, she decided to at least hear her out. "Of course, Ochaco, if either of us needed to talk, we could easily do so. What has you worried?"

Ochaco shuffled her feet a bit before she could answer. "I know it's rude and not my business, but when I went over to say hello, I saw...well, I couldn't help but notice Mineta's name at the top of the screen. I'm sorry to read over your shoulder like that, but that's what sort of has me worried."

_Well, at least it's not technically something he did. No need to be dishonest here._ Genuinely trying to ease Uraraka's worry, she tried her best to give a general explanation. "Oh that. It is true we were talking, but we were just talking about our day, nothing important or anything like that." Satisfied that Uraraka would take that, she began to relax.

"Oh, that's all?" There was a troubled look on Uraraka's face as she looked away. It didn't take her long to find what she wanted to ask. "Momo can I ask you one other thing?"

"Anything, Uraraka." Momo held a smile to show her that no question could bother her.

"He's not blackmailing you or anything is he?"

Except that one. The word blackmail may as well have been a slap across the face. "Of course not!" her reaction to it came a bit too quickly, but this was a friend they were talking about. _Someone who wanted to be a hero like her. What on Earth sort of question is that to ask about someone's friend?_

Ochaco held up her hands in a placating way, "I didn't mean anything bad by it. Only that you two don't talk all that much usually, and well, it's Mineta we're talking about here." Looking down for a moment, Ochaco locked eyes with Momo's. "The truth is, Deku, Iida, and I sort of thought he had something on you that kept you from reporting what he did last weekend. That's why I got worried when I saw you were texting him."

"Well I want to say thank you for your worry, but Mineta would never do something like that. He has his flaws, but blackmail is too much of a villainous thing for him to attempt."

Uraraka was a bit surprised at how Momo responded, but she suddenly felt bad for accusing him and apologized, "Sorry about that, I guess there really was nothing to worry about."

Momo took the apology in stride, "I am thankful that you were worried for my safety though, Uraraka. I would be the first to admit it must seem odd for me to be talking with Mineta, but I can assure you that nothing bad is happening. If it's all the same to you, however, can you keep this conversation between you and me?"

Uraraka only smiled at that," Of course, what are friends for? "

Glad that everything worked out with no trouble and even Uraraka seeming satisfied, Momo began to walk back to the common area on her own. As she was halfway there, she heard the bubbly voice call from behind her.

"Momo, one more question!"

Before she could even respond, the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. She hadn't even heard Uraraka approaching her but now a small voice next to her ear asked, "So, what were you two talking about?"

The air around Momo felt ten times heavier. Breathing felt almost impossible. It took her a second, frozen in place but she did eventually reply. All she could even eke out was a quick, "Just about what happened with him and Aizawa."

"Oh? That's all?" She sounded only half convinced but chuckled a bit afterwards. As sudden as the tension came, it left again. "That's a relief! I almost thought you were thinking of doing something to Izuku." Momo noticed she had placed some heavy emphasis on "you" but chose to keep quiet.

"Well, since it's nothing to worry about, let's keep this conversation between us too! See ya later, Yaoyorozu!" Smiling, the now cheery girl jogged past her down the hallway.

Momo could only stare at the usually friendly girl's shrinking form as the distance increased between them. Standing there in the corridor, she got to work typing out a definite no to doing anything to Midoriya in response to Mineta's message. All she could think as she typed was, _What on Earth was that?_

Sitting back on the couch next to Tsu, Ochaco couldn't help but regret overreacting like that. It never even crossed her mind that she misread his message. _Still_, she thought, _I can't believe Mineta was actually trying to get Midoriya and Momo together. Is this because we stopped him from messing with her? He has some nerve to try something that underhanded. She can say blackmail wasn't happening, but I doubt she would be speaking to him willingly otherwise. Maybe I should keep a closer eye on him._

Looking back towards the corridor, she noticed Momo finally walk into the common area proper. She also saw that Momo found a spot amongst her other friends far and away from her and also a good ways away from Midoriya. _As long as she understands those boundaries, we should be fine._ While she pondered her next move the automatic doors opened and the guest of the day finally arrived.

Taking the jokes and laughs with a smile as he mockingly stood triumphant, Mineta walked over and began talking to Sero and Denki's group first. A few others walked over and joined in. Even Bakugo sitting by himself took only a semi-dismissive note of things, but most had already moved on long before he arrived. As Uraraka looked on, Tsu finally spoke up.

"Mineta sure has been acting different lately, hasn't he, Ochaco?"

Snapping away from her inner thoughts, Uraraka replied quickly, "Oh you think so? I barely even noticed!"

Tsu tilted her head slightly at that. "Well, I thought you would have been one of the first to notice, since you're one of the ones watching him recently."

As usual, Asui's uncanny gift of perception caught Uraraka off guard. Trying her best to recover, she went with an easy topic. "Truth be told... I guess he did kind of cool it with some his comments recently. I thought it was sort of suspicious at first but it might be just him being better." _I won't mention that day for Momo's sake, but I wish she'd be a bit more truthful! _

After watching Mineta perform his best Aizawa impersonation using a spare dish towel, Tsu started speaking again, "Knowing him for as long as we have, it probably does seem like this is out of nowhere. He's usually more likely to browse stuff on his phone during class or ogle us whenever he can. I don't think this is really a bad thing, kero. I guess the only question is what made him change? "

Ochaco had her own thoughts on the matter. She had already realized early on in the day that this was probably a front. He had to be covering for himself, why else would he suddenly stop acting like he always had? Why would Momo suddenly start talking to him, let alone defend him? Sure Ochaco had only really been paying attention since the start of today, but that should have been long enough. What other reason could there even be?

"I guess it's not a bad thing. But I also want to know why he is doing this, Tsu."

Uraraka and Tsu watched Mineta wave towards the group before heading up the stairs to his room. As he walked by he made sure to say hey to the two girls watching him with a smugness only he was capable of producing. Ochaco guessed that since he didn't pay any special attention to her, Momo must have kept quiet. Still there was always something wrong to her about his arrogance on everything. Realizing she might need a good pair of eyes on this, her mouth opened as soon as the epiphany struck her.

"Hey Tsu, just curious, did you have anything planned this weekend?"

"Not really. Why, did you want to hang out?"

Ochaco couldn't help but smile. "Something like that."

* * *

**If you actually made it this far, I'll say thanks for reading! I'm hoping to finally get things moving along, but I'm also stuck with exams looming in front of me. Best of luck to anyone stuck in the same or similar boat I'm in. Sorry if any Ochaco fans are bothered out there. I love her as a character, but I always felt she was more of a still waters run deep kind of girl when it comes to those she cares about. I'm still trying to find my way with this story, so I want to say thanks for your patience. Take care and have a great week.**


	7. Chapter 7: Turning Heads

**A/N : Sorry this took so long, working slowly through the story. I just want to say thanks to all the friendly reviewers, and will be addressing them below. ****I had debated on sending everyone who reviewed it this time a private response but thought I'd be done sooner. Sorry it took so long.**** Stay safe, and good luck to anyone in summer classes. This will also mark one of the first chapters in a while I didn't have to go back and edit to include notes.**

* * *

The week was moving easily enough to Mineta, but not as quick as he'd hope for that glorious lunch with Momo. Apparently Operation: Zero-G Broccoli was a no go, and though she wouldn't mention why, Momo said that it was probably a bad idea to keep matching classmates up. _Fair enough_, he thought, _she probably wants everyone to focus more on school_. It just meant he was going to have a handicap when it came to the others, though it wasn't as if the universe was looking out for him here. One look at his height was proof enough of that.

Speaking of the lovers to be, he also noticed Uraraka boring holes into him as he walked into class Tuesday morning. He did take extra time to comb his hairballs to try and look a little more presentable, but he would prefer if it was Momo doing the staring. Although a sizeable part of him craved female attention in any capacity, he knew it was not destiny. _Sorry me, _he spoke resolutely to his internal self,_ but I have already blocked off the harem path_. _It is Momo that guides me now._ He at least hoped he could upgrade from acquaintance to boyfriend at some point here.

Truth be told, the combination of a pep talk with the teachers and a quiet evening of texting Momo did wonders for his morale. Talking to her about the most recent chapter of her favorite book he read was actually more fun than playing video games with Denki. The friendly smile Momo showed him as he sat down was enough to keep his spirits strong. Even Midoriya gingerly turning around to talk with him was only enough to mildly shake him up.

"Good morning, Mineta!"

"Mornin' Midoriya. How are you?" he said in a relatively balanced tone. It was at about this point he knew he could forget about peaceful mornings from now on.

"Can't complain too much." Is how he started but he quickly added an overly dramatic look of realization. "That reminds me, when you came back you said that the talk with Aizawa yesterday wasn't really about anything, right?"

_Geeze Izuku, can't let a good mood go unpunished, can you?_ "Nah," Mineta leaned back, arms behind his head, "just checking up on yours truly."

"Well that's good. I figured an after-school punishment for daydreaming might have been a bit overboard." he said it while smiling, but Mineta knew he had a way of disarming people beforehand. "What sort of things did you guys talk about, anyway?"

Some of the others looked over, even though he was only speaking with an inside voice. Luckily for Mineta, they were almost surrounded by the clique of indifference. Todoroki merely glanced over for a moment, but looked like he was busier reading something on his cellphone. Tokoyami merely opened an eye before going back to his quiet meditation. If Bakugo even cared, he wasn't showing it. Unfortunately Sero and Jiro were pretty close by, and looked over to listen in.

Although Mineta was staring right at Midoriya, he felt those other gazes looking over and placing him once more in the unwanted center of attention. He was partway into thinking of something in his defense, before someone else spoke up.

"Really, Midoriya, I think it's a bit rude to suddenly try and pry into personal affairs."

Looking at the source of the voice, it was none other than Momo. Try as they might, not even indifference could trump curiosity. Tokoyami still did his best to maintain a calm demeanor but even Bakugo had turned to watch.

Midoirya was definitely not expecting her to say something but tried to push a bit more, "I'm sorry if that seemed really rude, Yaoyorozu. I just wanted to make sure everything was okay. We are all in this together, you know!"

"I'm certain", she replied with finality, "that if he wanted to say what their conversation was about, he would have told everyone yesterday. I think if you want to find out, you should at least ask permission from him in private, instead of pressuring him out in public."

Although she was pretty happy to finally stick up for her friend, Momo realized quite quickly how out of place her defense of Mineta seemed. Even Shoto was watching with rapt attention

Looking close to the front, she saw Jiro's jaw turn to lead. Sero did his best to pretend not to notice but it was glaringly obvious. Bakugo, oddly enough, was snickering. Apparently anyone putting Deku in his place constituted a win in his book. Looking just in front of her, it hit her that even Mineta was staring in surprise.

Trying to find an easy way out, she finished with a rushed, "At least I'm sure that's how he feels. I remember feeling that way after Kamino, at least."

She could see Izuku was a bit hurt being reminded of that situation, and she felt bad doing so, but she needed an excuse of some kind! Finally Midoriya relented after searching for something else to say but failing.

"I'm sorry, Mineta. If you want to talk about it later would that be fine?"

Mineta was still taken aback by Momo's sudden defense, and only registered what Deku was saying after a moment.

"A little later sounds fine, sure man."

Smiling at hearing the response he was looking for, Midoirya gave his thanks and faced the front, doing his best to not listen to Bakugo laughing. Since the show was over, most had turned to focus on other things, but Jiro and Todoroki looked rather lost. Jiro grabbed her phone and started quickly typing, while Sero just gave Mineta a cheesy grin and a thumbs up. Momo wasn't a mind reader, but judging by the reaction Mineta gave, he wasn't too thrilled with having Sero as a witness. Shoto on the other hand remained quiet, watching to see if anything else would occur.

Thankfully, the start of class cut the possibility of any awkward questions to either Momo or Mineta. Momo did see Jiro's name on a message before putting her cellphone away, but she would need time to come up with a reasonable excuse.

* * *

As lunch rolled around, Denki chose to relax and eat lunch with Mineta at one of the emptier tables in the cafeteria. Food in hand, he strolled up to his vertically challenged friend and sat down.

"Hey bud, you were looking a little lonely out here, mind if I grab a seat?"

Kaminari was definitely one of those people who could lift a room's mood. Even the awkwardness of the morning stand-off was washed away by that smile of his. Maybe it helped that Denki didn't notice what happened. The less questions he had to answer on that, the better.

"Sure man", Mineta replied, the grin being contagious, "but aren't you worried what the wife will say if you don't come straight home?"

As they both started laughing a voice behind the two of them spoke up. "Luckily, this wife keeps good track of her man." Jiro's sudden appearance giving the two school boys a fright. Relaxing a bit and lifting her tray towards them, she added, "Is it fine for me to sit down with you guys today? Everyone else is being pretty loud."

To say both boys were dumbfounded would be an understatement. Some things just don't happen, and Jiro being willing to sit so close to Mineta was one of those things. Denki of course was ecstatic over the idea.

"Sure babe, the more the merrier, right Mineta?"

"What? Uh, yeah! Of course, Jiro. Plenty of room here!" Mineta didn't mind Jiro per say, but she had a way of quickly punishing him if he made a misstep in her eyes. He still was a tiny bit bitter over the peephole incident, but his eye didn't have any lasting damage. _Hopefully there won't be a repeat of either thing anytime soon_, was all he could tell himself.

Although Jiro gave her thanks and looked happy in the presence of Kaminari as they ate, Mineta couldn't help but notice she was sending a lot of sidelong glances his way. _Oh no, I hope she doesn't have secret feelings for me, I couldn't imagine harming Denki like that! Heck, what would Momo think?_ Coupled with Uraraka staring, he tried to ignore the no doubt slowly forming harem the universe handed him. Hoping to focus on other things, Mineta tried conversation to change things up.

"So how did your guys' date go this weekend? Go anywhere nice?"

Jiro mood visibly dropped and the daggers she was staring at the purple haired boy was not for the faint of heart. Denki however was pretty open and willing to share their weekend.

"Oh it was great! We went to the arcade and man it was a blast! I even won her a giant Milkshake plushie."

Denki was oblivious to his skill at appeasing the two acquaintances, but Jiro's mood actually lifted a bit. Trying to play it cool as she relaxed she claimed "What can I say? It was so cheesy I just had to have it."

"What? No way! You were practically begging me to win you that thing!" Denki can't help but grin at the shade of red his girlfriend was turning. Even Mineta would go as far as to call it cute.

He couldn't help but chuckle at the couple he got together, between Denki being head over heels and their back and forth antics, it was like a romantic comedy. He certainly felt like it was one of his greatest achievements to pair them up. Still, though they were having their fun, a chance to tease her doesn't come by often.

"That's adorable Jiro" Mineta chuckled, "did you name him anything cute?" Mineta smirked as it dawned on Jiro that she alone in this two versus one.

"No way," she said with a roll of her eyes, "it reminded me of a certain short stack I know, so I named it after him and use it as a punching bag now."

Mineta couldn't honestly tell if she was serious or not on that as a shiver went up his spine, but Denki was grinning as he ate.

"See that?" he said between bites. "You guys can talk to each other no problem. You should sit with us more often, Kyoka."

Although she blushed at that, Mineta was the first to respond. "Yeah, Jiro, having you around ain't too bad, especially if it keeps Denki grinning like a fool."

He was fine with saying just that at first, but he felt he needed to throw out a joke to go with it. He usually tells Momo the jokes are like him weaning off his perversions as a way to break habit. He recently told her that he's down to only one mildly perverted comment a week now, though she joked she would be keeping track of that. He hated using them up so early in the week, but this was a special situation. He and Jiro were finally not at odds, and if he could get on her good side, maybe he could spend time with Momo in public.

"Although personally, I wouldn't mind enjoying lunch with Yaoyorozu on top of that." he replied in blissful fantasy as he closed his eyes and leaned back.

The atmosphere grew more intense as Jiro dropped the fork she held. Denki only had enough time to stop laughing and look to Jiro's narrowed eyes.

"Mineta." Jiro's voice grew quiet. "Not to spoil the mood, but you better watch what you say about Yaomomo." To add emphasis to her words, she pointed earphone jacks dangerously close to his face. Mineta, seeing that horrifying moment in the locker room again, reflexively covered his eyes.

It didn't take more than a fraction of a second to realize just how screwed he was. _Shit. Definitely should have saved it for later_. Although he started to apologize, she interrupted him.

"No, don't bother." she said as she raised her hand. "This is honestly a good opportunity, though. I've got some questions for you. What was up with this morning? And you better answer truthfully."

Denki was lost, but judging from his good friend's expression, Jiro was on the money with something. "Hey hun, what are you talking about? I don't remember anything happening this morning."

"You wouldn't believe it unless you saw it with your own eyes, Stun-gun. Momo actually told Midoriya off for the little creep."

"What?! No way! You sure you didn't just imagine it, like Big Foot or the Loch Ness monster?" Denki exclaimed.

"Not likely, Pikachu. Even Todoroki was watching, and if Mineta knows what's good for him, he'll explain himself."

He had little reason to doubt his girlfriend, but Momo and Mineta were oil and water. They just didn't mix. Watching their exchange, however, he couldn't help but remember that joke Mineta told him two months ago about a date with one of the girls. _No way, he thought to himself, did he and Momo actually go on a date? Was that why Midoriya's group talked to me? I don't think he'd pull something criminal, but I'm pretty sure he'd need to move heaven and earth to get a chance to even talk with Momo._ Denki wanted to believe his friend was innocent but he knew that this was something he'd have to ask later on in private. All he could do was let Jiro and Mineta continue their conversation and see if he could fit it all together.

"Come on!" Mineta's voice strained only a bit more this time. "Is it really that tough to believe the vice-prez would want to let things be left alone?"_ Damn, can't even make a joke without the universe coming back at me. _

Jiro pulled back the earphone jacks, but only enough to get a better look at Mineta. "If it were anyone else, I'd be willing to believe that, but with your track record you think she'd give you the time of day?

He was really out of options, so the best Mineta tried a different approach, "Look, I don't know why she stuck her neck out for me like that. I wasn't dealing with anything crazy, but the fact of the matter is that she helped me out. For all I know," adding a shrug, "she just didn't want to hear Izuku talk in the morning, but I couldn't tell you why."

"If that's your excuse, Mineta," she said after a short pause, "then fair enough. Its bullshit, but I believe it." She couldn't help but sigh at the slightly trembling boy in front of her. _Of course he wouldn't know why. Still though, even if Momo is virtually a saint, I've never once heard her say much of anything about Mineta that wasn't her questioning the sort of parenting that would make a kid turn out that way. What would make her flip on Midoriya asking a question?_

With her mood not bordering on murderous, Mineta figured he try to at least get back at her in how own little way.

"It's okay, Jiro. I can understand why you're jealous."

Jiro took the bait almost instantly, "I'm what?"

"Don't worry", he began, arms weaving a tale for the now reddening girl, "one day you too will have your chance in the limelight, as you swoop in and save Denki from a roving pack of villains. His own knight in shining armor!"

Kaminari, still trying to piece things together, was still glad for a distraction. Taking Mineta's hint he swooned and went to wrap his arms around Jiro, calling out "My hero!" while laughing. Even Jiro couldn't help but to crack a small smile at that.

"Geeze, looks like I've got my work cut out for me. Denki is bad enough without your lousy stories adding to his antics." Though they were all laughing, Jiro couldn't help but worry about Momo's well-being. She hadn't responded to her text at the start of lunch and she had yet to hear back during all of this. _I hope you're okay, Momo_.

* * *

"... and that's pretty much all that was said."

"I have to admit," Iida said, deep in thought, "it's not something that I would expect myself, Midoriya."

"Defending Mineta? That's pretty out there." Uraraka looked surprised but her voice had a certain calmness to it, as if it wasn't too surprising. _The things you can get someone to do with blackmail are something else_, she thought. "Still, what do you think made her do it? Did she mention anything else? Maybe something that would give her a reason to do it?"

Midoriya thought about it for a second, but quickly shook his head, "No, nothing I can think of. She just told me that if I wanted to know that I should ask him in private."

Everyone paused in thought for a short time, before Iida finally spoke, "Well it could be that she truly acting in her capacity as Vice President and trying to keep distractions to a minimum."

"That might be the case, Iida, but there probably is more to it." Ochaco pointed out. "Actually, I think she gave Deku a pretty good idea."

Izuku tilted his head a bit, "You think it might have had something to do with Mineta's talk with Aizawa?"

"It wouldn't be a bad place to start. He probably is expecting you to ask him about it soon enough anyway." Uraraka gave a gentle smile here. _And the further away from Momo, the better. I might have to pay Mineta a visit later on as well, to make sure he stays on his best behavior_.

Izuku felt his pulse racing just a bit in the face of Ochaco's smile. How could he not? Doing his best to pre-emptively hold back his stammer, he quickly agreed.

"Then it's unanimous," Iida's comment breaking the two student's attempts at slow burnt romance for the moment. "Uraraka, you make sure Momo isn't being bothered by Mineta. Don't be too forceful, just keep an eye on her. Midoriya, you try and see if you can get him to tell you about what the conversation was about later on, preferably after school. I will ask around and see if the other students noticed anything we didn't."

With renewed purpose, the trio finished their food and got ready to head to the next class.

* * *

At another part of the cafeteria, Sero had just finished telling the others about what he saw. Needless to say, the table was speechless, although in Bakugo's case it was more because he was still focusing on the food in front of him.

"Wow man, gotta say that's pretty tough to swallow..." Kirishima, dazed, but not too interested for the most part, was the first to gain his mental footing. "You sure she wasn't just telling Midoriya to relax instead? What do you think, Katsuki?"

"I think everyone is overreacting." Bakugo's sentence was short, and as he continued to work on his plate it became apparent he wouldn't budge on his opinion.

Mina immediately pushed herself next to Kirishima, the sly smile she shot him before talking not helping to make him forget how close she was. "I think Bakugo is just being a spoilsport," she said, clearly enjoying the glare she was shot from the explosive blond. "I mean, it doesn't matter why! Do you know what it means?"

"Uh, I guess it means Momo is doing a great job of looking out for everyone?" Eijiro was trying his best, but he knew Ashido craved gossip like it was water in a desert._ I wish she wouldn't go out of her way to look for this junk_, he thought to himself.

Laughing at his attempt to calm her down she looked to everyone else, "No! What it means is that Momo is hiding something interesting. To top it off, I can get back at Mineta for THAT."

Even Sero had to sigh there. During a joint training with class 1-B, Mineta managed to deflect a blow meant for Mina. While it was actually pretty incredible considering the circumstances, the only trouble was his heroism also resulted in something that benefitted him as well. The look on her face making it clear she hasn't completely forgiven him for it. Apparently teasing the two was going to be the payback.

"I get how you feel Ashido, but does Momo need to be included in there as well?" Kirishima asked.

"Yeah," Sero said, taking another quick bite between words, "I kind of thought you got Mineta good for that, but why Yaomomo?"

"Oh that's just going to be some fun between girls, nothing to worry about." Mina added a wink, and the trio of guys knew she had her mind set on it whether they wanted to stop her or not.

Kirishima started eating again, but after finishing some of his meal, turned to tell Mina, "Well, as long as you don't run off and...start teasing them... immediately." realizing too late that the girl leaning up against him had now vanished, leaving a plate half eaten.

"Damn it, I'll be right back, hopefully she hasn't run off too far." Grabbing the last couple bites, Kirishima left in a hurry as well as Sero couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of them.

Realizing he wasn't alone, Bakugo looked up and opened his mouth for something other than food. "What, you're not following those idiots?"

"Are you kidding?" Sero couldn't help but grin, "Mina is going to tell us all about it later on anyway. This way I get to skip the leg work." With that, Hanta starting digging into his rice as the two settled into a peaceful silence amongst the cafeteria noise.

* * *

In the solace of the temporarily empty classroom, Momo was wrestling with her emotions as she ate her lunch. Playing the morning in her head repeatedly, she couldn't pin down what caused her to jump to Mineta's defense. Try as she might, she came back to the same question over and over again: _What came over me this morning?_

Thanks to the awkward situation, Momo decided eating alone in the classroom today might be the most reasonable choice to avoid the questioning looks she saw on everyone's faces._ Even Shoto was watching Minoru with more than a little curiosity as they went to lunch_. She stopped. _Minoru?! No, I meant Mineta. He's a friend, Momo, but he's not that kind of friend._

Thinking about it more and more, however, she couldn't help but ask if that really was the case. She had to admit, even if she wasn't on a first name basis with him, she had grown to appreciate those late nights texting about anything that crossed their minds. Especially with her favorite book. It was great seeing things from a new perspective, and Mineta tended to have a more grounded outlook on the choices heroes made, which allowed her to appreciate some of the sections she didn't quite agree with on subsequent readings.

Speaking of friends, she still hadn't found the right words to answer Jiro's text message. In fact, looking again, she saw a second message asking if everything was okay. It felt awful that she couldn't truthfully explain why to Jiro, but Momo couldn't even figure out why she did it. She wanted to claim that it had something to do with how powerless she felt as Jiro laid into Denki about Mineta's flaws but she felt there was another thing as well.

Maybe it was just because of how desperate he looked? Maybe he really needed someone to be there for him. She smiles as she thinks she hit her epiphany. _Of course! I just wanted to help a friend out. It was a bit wrong for Midoriya to try and coerce Mineta about private matters in front of everyone else. No one should even be bothered about this. After all, I don't even know what that conversation was about!_

Staring down at the almost finished food, she realized that she didn't actually know what Aizawa and Mineta spoke of. _Maybe I should ask him about it. He always seems so content to listen to me, but maybe I should listen to him as well. Hopefully the lunch this weekend will give me a chance to ask him in a more relaxed setting._

As she reached for her phone, the clapping of shoes against cement rose steadily in volume, stopping before the door to her classroom. Though she thought that she had no reason to do this, Momo tensed up. It soon became obvious enough as to why once the door opened up, as Mina rushed through the door sporting a Cheshire grin with Kirishima, clearly out of breath, coming in after her. No amount of shouting or begging budged Ashido for even a moment as they ran.

"So," Mina started, having already thought of her lines beforehand, "I heard you and Mineta are an item now!"

Momo may have been frozen in place but her face burned at the ridiculous statement. Finally gaining a bit of her sense, her first reflex was to flatly deny it. "I haven't the faintest idea what you're talking about!"

Seeing how embarrassed Momo was became too much for Mina as she burst into laughter. Kirishima tried his best to apologize, but Mina wasn't through.

"I'm not into shorter guys all that much myself," Mina started, leaning against a desk as she did so, "but I really dig that reverse role thing you guys have. Standing up to your boyfriend's bullies is pretty manly, Yaomomo." she added with a wink.

It took a bit too long but Momo finally understood she was just fooling around. Sighing at her friend who could probably use that energy for studying, Momo tried to explain herself. "Really now, Mina, there was honestly nothing to it. He was just someone who wanted to keep private matters private. It'd be one thing if he wanted to be open about it, but I felt Midoriya was too pushy."

It looked like it was Mina's turn to sigh. "Geeze, talk about boring! And here I thought you two were sneaking off into the woods to whisper forbidden nothings or something."

Mina turned to pout at Kirishima from disappointment due to lack of juicy gossip. Momo however locked up at the same time. Part of it was thanks to the possibility of someone knowing about the meetings (she still wasn't sure how much Bakugo knew). The other, odd thought came from the ridiculous image she had of her and Mineta hand in hand, walking off slowly into the dense, dark foliage near the dorms together. She used to say she could never imagine Mineta with anyone but she certainly didn't need to imagine herself while Mina was on a warpath.

Shaking that alien image out of her head, she finally replies as Mina turns back to face her "Hopefully all of those ridiculous stories are out of your system."

Kirishima manages to get a word in before his pink friend can, "Sorry Yaoyorozu, you know how Ahiso gets when she hears about something new. I get what you mean though. We all have things we would prefer to keep private."

"Aw don't act all brooding and mysterious now, Rocky." Mina said as she began to poke Kirishima's side, only making it worse when he began to blush. "Leave that to guys like Tokoyami!"

"Oi, come on."

With someone much more fun to bother, Mina decides to finally leave Momo be.

"Sorry if the teasing was a bit too much, but don't worry, your secret is safe with me, Yaomomo!"

Momo tries to ask what secret, but both she and Kirishima can only sigh as Mina runs off.

"Sorry again Yaoyorozu, I'll try to tell her to lay off on all of that." With a quick bow he rushes off after his pink skinned friend.

Momo, finally alone again, went back to getting a reply ready for Jiro. _I hope she is fine with a little lie for the moment_. She fidgeted with the phone for a bit as she struggled to find a solution that could work for both Jiro and Mineta. _Maybe I should explain this whole thing to Jiro. I was pretty worried about what she would think but she trusts me enough to agree if I think something will work out._

* * *

As Kirishima closed the door and met back up with Mina, he couldn't help but be a bit curious. "So, do you think there's... you know, anything between them?"

Mina manages a double take at her friend before bursting out in laughter. After letting it subside she can't help but poke more fun at him. "Did someone replace that brain of yours with rocks? There's no way there's something going on between those two. BUT, I'm sure there's some boy that's on her mind, and I intend to find out who! C'mon, let's head back and make sure Bakugo hasn't murdered Hanta."

* * *

**Hope people enjoy how the story is slowly progressing. To counter that, ****I decided to try and add a bit more going on this time instead of just focusing on one or two things.**** As usual leave a review and give me your thoughts.**

**For the newest reviewers I have, in order:**

**allthecoolusernamesaretaken: Thank you very much. I'm hoping to keep errors as few as possible, but it feels good going through and trying to improve the story in little ways along the way. Thanks for explaining the whole review thing. I should have realized sooner, but at least I understand now. **

**I'll try to keep it as natural as I can. Not sure if I could pull off writing my own book, but the encouragement is most certainly welcome.**

** : I'm glad you enjoyed the flashback. Hoping I can continue giving a story people will enjoy, and make character's reactions decently believable. Stay safe as well!**

**Sanguimancy : I truly appreciate the kind review! I'm trying to find some balance when it comes to describing things, but I feel you do a much better job.**

**As for Mineta's hesitation, I have to admit that I used your story as a sort of placeholder. I wanted to base the first chapter/one shot on how they'd talk after a recent heart-to-heart. But once I started writing chapter 2 realized I had to create one of my own to address what changed. Hopefully I did a half decent job there. Good luck to your fan fiction as well!**

**And thanks to all the future reviewers out there!**


	8. Chapter 8: An Exercise

**AN: Holy crap, I'm sorry everyone. Between having a hefty writer's block on where I wanted to take the chapter, being unsure of how to handle some of the dialogue, and school giving me much more pressure than usual, it's been rough. I'm also pretty mad because I didn't want to leave this chapter on a cliffhanger, but I already essentially have the next much smaller chapter finished, it's just a question of if I want to add much more and if not getting to proofreading it. As always I appreciate all reviews positive or negative, so feel free to leave your thoughts and I'll answer them all by the next chapter!**

* * *

"Alright class," a perpetually tired Aizawa began. "today we will be practicing rescue training in the USJ."

Most of the class cheered, anything to hone their hero skills and avoid class work was welcomed.

Aizawa quickly interrupted the already excited class. "Quiet down. There will be a few stipulations for today's training. The first is that while your quirks will always be encouraged, there will be times when they can cause greater issues during a catastrophe. Understanding your strengths and weaknesses will be always be important, and today's training will hopefully teach you some discipline as when best to use them."

The class murmured quietly amongst themselves. Eraser Head allowed it for a moment. He knew they would be surprised having to hold back the quirks they've spent so long developing. He also knew that it was important to keep them always guessing and, on their toes, to avoid getting complacent. Speaking over them, he continued, "The second is that you will be assigned a partner and area at random. This will help simulate a common situation, where you and a hero who may not even be part of the same agency will arrive on the same scene, maybe even one you've never been to, as first responders."

Iida already had his hand raised. "Aizawa-sensei, do you mean this exercise will be similar to the provisional license exam?"

"There will be some differences, such as the number of people working together, but yes. Be sure to take this just as seriously."

While the class was always ready to handle any problem that came their way, it had been ages since they last used the USJ. There was, despite the cheering, a bit of hesitancy. It had not been so long ago when they were here, fighting for their lives. Eraser Head paused for a moment to look over his students, he could see some of that emotion. Not the fear of being attacked again, but the pain from remembering. Trying his best to ease their thoughts by keeping their minds on the present, he spoke.

"Rescuing citizens is just as important as fighting the villains causing the havoc. Again, the situation will dictate whether your quirk will be useful. Take this exercise seriously and focus on what is in front of you."

As he watched their worried looks vanish, replaced with the faces of determination he was used to seeing, he paused. Every day they were improving, building on the strong foundation instilled by both the school and their experiences. It was almost enough to make him smile. Almost.

With no other interruptions, Aizawa started naming off student pairs, handing each a slip of paper. Midoriya was matched with Momo, Uraraka with Mina, Bakugo was paired with Mineta and so on.

"Hey Izuku," the unmistakable voice of the shortest student in class called out. "I think there was a mix up. You wouldn't mind trading, right?"

The cold voice of their teacher halted that plan in its tracks. "There was no mix up, and there will be absolutely no trades, Mineta. Accomplish the given mission."

"R-right!" _So much for getting some alone time with Momo_, Mineta cursed.

"Sorry, Mineta," Midoriya said, "but with Bakugo's quirk you won't have anything to worry about!"

"Yeah..." Mineta trailed off as the blonde in question scowled at the two staring at him. "I guess I could figure something out. But hey, enjoy yourself buddy."

Ochaco heard Mineta's words and froze in place. While Izuku also took the joke a bit too seriously, trying to over-explain his embarrassment away, she watched the pair like a hawk. Momo, who at this point had her fill of jokes for the day and noticing Ochaco staring a bit too hard, caught the attention of the two boys with a quick cough.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I wouldn't mind talking to you about our possible plans as we make our way there, Midoriya. I'm sure your speed would make for great reconnaissance."

Izuku in most cases would be thrown off by a beautiful girl like Momo standing so close, but anything quirk or hero related was usually enough to ease that issue.

"Good idea, Yaoyorozu! I had a few possible suggestions for using your quirk if you don't mind hearing about them. They would be pretty helpful in the flood zone we were assigned to! Do you have any problems with maybe creating binoculars with thermal vision?"

As Midoriya rambled on, Momo glanced to a disappointed Mineta and caught his gaze for a moment, smiled quickly, and walked off, listening close to Midoriya's quickened speech.

"Hey balls for brains, hurry up or get left behind." The powerful shove from Bakugo as he walked by knocked Mineta off balance for a moment.

Mineta was annoyed with Bakugo's attitude, but at least the comment wasn't as venom laced as he used to be towards Midoriya. It was hard to tell if Bakugo was still sore about all the questions from the other day or not, but getting assigned to the fire zone with him, angry or otherwise, meant Mineta had his work cut out for him.

"Sure, sure. Whatever you say," Mineta replied. "By the way, do you mind if I hitch a ride?"

It wouldn't be as good a time as when he latched onto Momo, but they would go through this training quicker that way.

"In your damn dreams!"

Bakugo didn't even give him the decency of looking in his general direction before walking off. Sighing as he felt the afternoon getting longer by the second, Mineta heard a voice call out from behind him.

"Yeah bro, you definitely got the short end of the stick this time."

Seeing a grinning Kaminari followed by Kirishima close behind him put Mineta at ease.

Kirishima added on to Denki's comment as he walked up. "Don't worry, Mineta. He might still seem a bit rough, but he's a good guy deep down. You're in good hands."

Mineta wasn't sure how Kirishima cracked Bakugo's shell, but he had to give credit where credit was due.

"Honestly, I don't know how you did it, Kirishima, I'd have given up a long time ago. You guys assigned to the fire zone too?"

Kirishima nodded. "Not sure how we might be able to use our quirks, but it shouldn't be a problem. But you should probably hurry up, Bakugo is not a fan of being late."

Sighing again at who he got stuck with, Mineta jogged after the blonde.

A short distance away, Ochaco stared as Midoriya and Momo got along as they walked. She was hoping Momo would keep it professional, but it wasn't something she could dwell on with work to do. _I just hope Momo doesn't try anything on Deku_.

Mina saw where Ochaco was looking but chose to not say anything for the time being. She knew her crush on Deku was an awkward topic, and she knew what it felt like to be kept at arms distance. Hoping to keep her mind off things and avoid an awkward question, Mina called out to her love-sick friend.

"Earth to Uravity!"

The shout caused the girl in question to jump in surprise. "Sorry Mina, just spacing out." Knowing she couldn't dwell on the negative now, she turned to Mina. "Ready to go?"

"Of course. Lead the way!"

* * *

Landing with a soft step, Mina couldn't help but be impressed. On the one hand, she remembered the boat looked a lot worse for wear after Midoriya fought off those villains, but UA managed to refloat the boat with little issue. On the other hand, Uraraka had clearly trained. She didn't even look a little queasy taking the two of them across the water. Mina wasn't sure what the casualties would look like but was relieved that there were lifeboats onboard to move them. _The less stress Ochaco goes through the better. _

Stepping gently over the hastily patched together hull of metal and wood, Mina was the first to break the silence. "Wow, can't believe Midoriya and the others managed to beat whoever caused this. Didn't even think you could patch this thing back together."

"Yeah, he was pretty powerful even back then," Uraraka replied. She looked over the railing for a moment to really take in the boat's damage. "It's crazy we all made it out alive."

Thinking back to all the injuries both the pro heroes and their classmates sustained had them silent for a moment. The cards were stacked against them. Had it not been for the other pros showing up just in time, their deaths were guaranteed. It was hard thinking back to that for them both, but they had to focus on this mission, even if it was only training.

Renewed in their motivation to begin, they searched the main deck. It didn't take long before they found their first "casualty". Lying slumped against one of the outer railings, a large sandbag with a sailor uniform on stuck out like a sore thumb. As she reached the casualty, Mina couldn't help but giggle as she turned it over.

"Well, at least we know what they look like," Mina said, admiring the quality of the uniform.

"Careful Mina, we should have at least checked for any wounds before moving him," Ochaco replied. She had a hunch Aizawa-sensei was the type to make sure first-aid was a priority at some point, and what better time than the first one a student would find?

"That's true. I'm sorry Mr. Sailor," Mina performed a mock bow, "but I'll have to undress you a bit."

Although she was joking around, Mina took a thorough look over the fabric body, trying to find some sign of damage. It didn't take long to spot a note tacked onto the front.

"Knocked out, minor bleeding? Well at least we don't have to guess what's wrong." Mina said as she pulled out a small first aid kit.

As she began wrapping the dummy's arms, Ochaco instead chose to explored the rest of the upper deck. Floating along as she searched, she couldn't help but think back to how well Izuku and Momo were getting along as they talked. Her mood dropping a bit, she did her best to remind herself that it was probably Deku getting over-excited and Momo being herself. Try as she might, however, she couldn't get Mineta's parting words out of her head. _Have fun? Really? You can't even have one class without Yaoyorozu being bothered?_

She told herself that Midoriya wasn't the type to go chasing after women unless they needed saving, even if she only half believed it. Her real worry, however, was Momo and Mineta. Mineta because he always had some sort of plot on his mind and the cunning to pull it off. Momo excelled in everything from looks to brains with no shortage of wealth (that last one stinging more than it should have) which meant few men would be able to turn her down if she showed any interest. _Maybe Momo doesn't have any interest in Midoriya now, _she said to herself_, but if she spends enough time with him, she might develop something for him_.

Ochaco knew it wasn't doing her any good to dwell on the situation, all she could do was hope. Releasing her quirk, she landed next to Mina with a gentle thud. While she searched, Mina managed to easily carry the sandbag back to the lifeboats, setting out an area for the wounded with a nearby tarp.

"See anyone else out there?" Mina asked as she stood back up.

Nothing outside," Ochaco replied, sounding a little more down than she wanted.

Ashido heard it as well but wanted to keep her friend focused.

"If you didn't see anything, it's safe to say everyone else is below deck. Let's go."

Mina performed a quick stretch as they moved over to the door leading to the lower decks. Testing the door and seeing it was sealed up tight, Mina used her quirk to melt the hinges and the portion of the wall the latch was attached to. Pulling with all their strength the door came loose with little trouble.

"Wow Mina, you've gotten a lot better with using your quirk!"

Mina couldn't help but blush a bit at the compliment. "You think so? I would have probably just tried melting the whole door in the past, but this way we don't have to worry about damaging the ship more than we have to. "

Looking back to the impressed girl, Mina couldn't help herself. "Have you managed to get that confession going yet?"

Uraraka couldn't help but groan. "Seriously Mina?" Not able to hide it anymore, she admitted that she hadn't made her move yet.

"I'm only kidding, but still, do you realize how cute you two would be? I'm pretty sure everyone in the class has been waiting for you to ask."

As they descended into the lower deck, Ochaco kept the conversation going. "I'm pretty sure not everyone was waiting. I couldn't imagine Tokoyami or Bakugo caring too much, personally."

Mina laughed at the thought of Tokoyami having a soft spot for romance but relented. "Okay, sure, maybe a couple of them don't care, but come on! We're all rooting for you."

Ochaco seemed thankful for the kind words, but she still looked worried. Mina, seeing her downcast look, wanted to give her some more encouragement. "Don't worry, guys can be a little dense sometimes, but showing them you're interested can go a long way."

"You really think so?" Uraraka had a hard time hiding her hope that Deku might show enough interest to make a move on his own.

"Of course!" Despite the cheerfulness of the conversation, Mina's smile dropped for a moment. "If only Kirishima could take a hint."

As Ochaco looked into Ashido's eyes, she couldn't help but notice a bit of sadness to them. Before she could open her mouth to return at least some of the concern, Mina picked right back up.

"It's no problem, he's moving at his own pace. I'm just stuck playing the waiting game." Still seeing the concern on her friend's face, Mina waved off any other questions, "I really appreciate it, but he'll come around sometime."

Mina looked like her old self, but still seemed distant. As Uraraka started to reach out Mina quickly grabs a sandbag dummy slumped against the wall and gets to work checking to see if the poor thing is wounded.

Though she hesitates at first, Ochaco lets the subject drop and eases into the exercise. As they gently push this one along with Ochacos's quirk, Mina thinks back to the start of the exercise.

"Oh, and I wouldn't worry about Momo. She's got a guy on her mind, it's just not yours."

Ochaco wanted to believe her, but she couldn't trust those words with Mineta's remarks in the back of her mind. Suddenly it hit her. Realizing she might need more than Tsu for her plan, she waited until they had the dummy safely laid on the tarp and are heading for the lower deck again.

"Hey Mina, what's your weekend looking like?"

Mina stopped just outside the cabin door and pondered the question. "Depends, do you have anything in mind?"

Smiling as they head back into the ship, Uraraka only says, "Only if you're still curious about who Momo has on her mind."

* * *

"Save me! Save me! My baby brother and mother are still out there somewhere! Save them too!"

Mineta couldn't help but sigh. It had already been about half an hour, but the combination of high temperature, Bakugo's commands, and the cardboard cutouts repeated voice lines made it feel more like 4 or 5 hours. It didn't help that many of them sounded suspiciously like the former number one hero trying different voices.

The only good thing was that the cardboard person outside told them he had a family of 5 inside the zone and provided respirators. All it meant to him was smoke wasn't as big an issue and they at least had a goal to work towards. Bakugo managed to grab 2 of the family members before the ten-minute mark and this was one took more time to dig out than actually search for.

Placing the cutout outside the fire zone, Mineta hated to admit it, but Bakugo did well leading this thing. If he kept moving, Bakugo kept the threats and insults to a minimum. He managed to only be told to hurry the hell up twice, and Mineta wasn't sure if that was a new record for anyone working with the blonde. Still, the less complaining the better.

Mineta stopped for a moment before it dawned on him. _This is my chance to get a straight answer out of Bakugo about why he helped me_, Mineta thought. _There's no peer pressure and we aren't too busy; he might open up easier now_.

Trying to get back to Bakugo, however, was proving to be more difficult than Minoru preferred. The amount of debris was probably the roughest part of the exercise. From what he could tell, UA didn't do much repairing after the incident. _I guess the debris is good for practicing moving safely,_ he thought, _but this is more for guys who aren't barred from most of the rides at a theme park_.

The fires nearby weren't much help either. The respirator was great for keeping lot of the smoke out of his lungs, but that didn't make the heat which ranged from uncomfortable in some places to unbearable inside some of the buildings any better. His height at least kept some of the smoke out of his eyes, but right about now he was wondering if a helmet like Sero or Uraraka's costumes might be a good idea for an upgrade. _I wonder if you could get it air conditioned too? I bet the support class would get a kick out of trying to make it. _

Finally climbing over a collapsed pillar, Mineta spotted Bakugo already moving debris from a large building's entrance. Not even bothering to look up, the only bit of concern Bakugo had was on the task at hand.

"Hear anything on the way back?" he calmly asked while pushing a large piece of rebar to the side, clearing a way into the building.

"Not a thing." Mineta knew he didn't need any long-winded report, short and crisp did the job. Well, he didn't really know if that was the case. He only knew that he saw veins bulging out of Bakugo's forehead anytime Izuku began to describe something at length.

"The rest are probably further on then. Help keep the doorway stable."

"You bet." Throwing a few grapes at the various cracks lining the wall of the large doorway, he felt pretty proud of himself. _Sure_, he thought, _I know my quirk is good for catching villains, but being able to use it like this for rescuing people is great_. He couldn't help but wonder if Momo felt this way, but knew he couldn't daydream for long. Bakugo tended to move from yelling to other methods pretty quickly, and Mineta wasn't in the mood for anything more than getting chewed out if he could help it.

Working through the buildings on the first floor, Mineta tried to find a good time to say something to Bakugo, but he was being fed commands one after another. Try as he might, Mineta couldn't find an opening.

"Hey, Baku-"

"Check under the debris", came the sharp call further down a ruined hallway.

"On it." After a quick search lead to nothing, Mineta called again. "Oh, there's something I need t-"

"Help lift this thing," was all Bakugo said as he moved on.

Grunting as he moved the heavy cabinet that fell over, Mineta tried again. "Okay, it's moved, so why di-"

A small explosion interrupted him. Looking over, Mineta saw his partner cracked open a locked door, but the inside looked empty.

"Check in the cupboards in case Aizawa sensei hid one on us."

It continued like this until they at last found a cardboard cutout of a crying baby, in a crib, no less. Picking it up and turning off the speaker on the back, Bakugo unceremoniously tossed it over to Mineta.

"That just leaves the mother. We've cleared this place, so if the baby is here, she is probably in a nearby building. It would at least be the logical move." Bakugo looked out of one of the broken windows to see if he could spot her, but fire and smoke obscured most of the area.

Finally finding the right moment, Mineta went for it. "Bakugo", he started, "I have to know man. What made you help me out last weekend?"

Bakugo barley managed to contain his groan but was unable to hide his annoyance as he walked down the stairs, "This crap again? Didn't I already tell you?"

"There has to be more to it than, 'Oh I just felt like helping you'," the shorter classmate fired back, trailing close behind._ Who's he kidding? We barely know each other. He's not exactly cupid over here, so what's his angle?_

Although they moved in silence through the building, once they made it outside Bakugo finally opened his mouth. "Look..."

"Mineta."

"Sure, whatever. Listen. The reason I helped you out was because I saw the results that romance garbage brings."

Trying to recover the jaw of lead Bakugo left him, Mineta found his voice soon enough. "Come again?"

"Look at Pikachu and Earlobes. Before they started going out, they were slow as hell. Barely a blip on my radar. But now, Stun-Gun is putting forth some actual effort and not making a complete fool of himself when his girlfriend is watching. And Earlobes has been much better during sparring matches and on tactics. "

Ducking under a half-destroyed wall, he continued.

"Winning is great and all, and you better believe I'll be number one, but it's hollow if the only ones really competing are Kirishima, half-and-half, and the nerd. The fiercer the competition, the better the victory."

"Wait, you mean to tell me you only wanted Momo and me to work things out so you could have more people to beat?"

"That's pretty much the size of it."

_Who the hell thinks like that!?_ Mineta couldn't even wrap his mind on how Bakugo's thought process worked. He figured it wasn't because he suddenly wanted friendship with someone as weak as him, but this is insane. Maybe a bit too out there, even for him.

"Bakugo, come on. You mean to tell me there is nothing else as a reason besides that?"

Not acknowledging the question at first as he tested a doorknob on a building, Bakugo kept his mouth closed for a bit. Almost on reflex, he pulled his hand away, shaking off the pain. Finally, he spoke, "Look, don't worry about what others think. Focus on Ponytail and keep trying to not screw things up."

_Well,_ Mineta thought, _at least I was right_. "What about Deku and his friends though? What am I supposed to do about them breathing down my neck?"

"That's on you, dumbass. It was your screw up. Learn from your mistakes and make up for them. At least that's what Kirishima says."

Thankful for the half-decent second-hand advice, Mineta was glad the redhead was at least being a good influence on the most violent kid in their school. Still, he couldn't help but wonder what Bakugo's real angle was. As far as Mineta was concerned, his worst case scenario was that Bakugo liked Momo too, and wants an actual victory, rivalry and all. _Damn it, I really hope the hot jerk isn't Momo's type_. Suddenly an absolutely insane thought popped into Mineta's head. It was an option that scared even him to think about, but considering the blonde's excuse was, "Get together so I have some better stepping stones," he was willing to see all the angles. Bracing himself for the possibly earth shaking revelation, he asked his final question.

"Hey, you're not doing all of this because you secretly like me, right?"

The heat that radiated from the blast that he barely managed to dive from was frightening. Above him, the fire inside the burning building from earlier swelled, and then quickly lost most of its size as the oxygen, along with most of the building's first floor walls were blown away by Bakugo's explosion. Mineta was still awestruck by the sheer power of what he witnessed. _How did Midoriya tank multiple hits like that!?_ Looking up from his prone position, he saw a gaping hole in the building they were just in front of. The upper half of a sandbag in a dress, with a speaker messily attached still managed a final, garbled cry for help before the power gave out.

"Any other stupid questions?"

Well, at least he had the earth-shaking part right.

* * *

Kirishima and Kaminari both were also wandering the fire zone, slowly dragging a group of cardboard kids away from a burning bus. The explosion shook the large room that housed the makeshift town.

"Holy crap! What do you think, Kirishima, did Mineta start that or Kacchan? "

Holding onto a section of the rope tied around the kids, Kirishima looked toward the origin of the reverberating sound.

"Hard to say. Personally, I would put money on Bakugo starting it and Mineta saying something wrong."

Denki chuckled at the guess, "Yeah, their chemistry might be a bit lacking for this sort of mission. Hopefully they didn't level a building."

Smiling at the joke, Kirishima went back to trying to maneuver the cutouts. He didn't know why, but it would have felt wrong to stack them on top of each other. Denki agreed, saying he didn't mind the rope idea. Honestly, Kirishima enjoyed hanging out with Denki. A bit flashy at times, but it probably comes with having such an awesome quirk. Besides, nothing wrong with a man being flashy as long as his heart was in the right place.

After making it a few blocks in relative silence, Eijiro finally decided to break the ice and ask some questions he had mulled over since lunch.

"Kaminari, sorry if I'm overstepping a bit, but has Mineta talked about any girls?"

Denki didn't quite catch what he meant. "What? I mean, we talk about girls often enough. A lot less since Jiro and me started seeing each other, but a pretty girl is a pretty girl, and as men we can appreciate that."

Kirishima knew he should have saw that coming, but started again, "I mean, recently, like maybe a girl he's seeing or something?"

Denki was in front of Kirishima, so the latter couldn't see his face, but the sinking feeling almost caused Denki to freeze in place. Snapping out of it and without missing a step, he answered back, "No, not recently. Why, did you see him with a girl or something?" He wanted to see if Kirishima knew something he didn't, so he tried to bait a response, "I hope he ain't holding out on me man. He's been teasing me ever since my first date with Kyoka, and if I can't get him back a little bit it wouldn't be fair."

Kirishima knew he had made things awkward asking like this. To be honest, he felt unmanly talking about someone behind their backs like this. He at least had to clarify things, "It wasn't really anything like that. It's just… I don't know, I think I'm listening to Mina too much. I can't even tell when she's just joking."

Denki scratched the side of his face, "Well she does like joking around. What happened anyway?"

Eijiro tells Denki about the lunch visit Mina paid Momo, and how Momo seemed bothered by all the teasing. He finished it with, "I think Mina was just having her idea of fun, but I can't tell why she's so fixed on it. I don't think I've ever seen Mineta and Momo together. Well except for the Sports Festival."

"Don't think that one counts, but I hear ya. I'd say don't worry about it though, Mina loves getting people riled up. She did it to Jiro and me and she probably won't stop until she's distracted by a guy herself."

Kirishima laughed at that. "Yeah, she's definitely going to be a handful for someone someday."

Kaminari felt the rope stop for a second. As he turned around, he saw Eijiro looking down to the ground. But as soon as he realized Denki was staring, he picked right back up with his train of thought.

"I know it's not really my business, but just tell Mineta to not take anything Mina says to heart. She might give him plenty of grief, but she doesn't really mean anything she says."

As he heard the last part, Denki took a long, hard look at Kirishima. He heard the pain in Kirishima's voice. He wanted to help somehow. They had been through a lot, and Denki wasn't the type to stand by while a friend was in trouble.

"Hey, if you want to talk about anything, I'm here."

Kirishima's eyes widened with surprise for a moment, but he closed them and only shook his head. "It's okay. I have to figure out this whole thing on my own. All of this hesitation, I guess I can't really say I'm a man just yet."

Kaminari could see how hurt he was about it, though it was more because the guy wore his heart on his sleeve than anything else. Still, Denki wanted to show him that he didn't have to face anything alone. " I have to say I'm not completely on board with you saying you're not a man, but if you do need to talk to someone, I might make a better choice over Bakugo."

Hearing he had a comrade in arms, Eijiro couldn't help but smile. "Thanks, and I know he's rough around the edges, but Bakugo can give out solid advice too. Still, I'm glad I have friends looking out for me."

As the two began to get the cardboard kids to a green safety circle near a fire zone's entrance, the two continued with more casual small talk. Mulling over the redhead's words, however, Kaminari decided that he would choose tonight to get answers from Mineta himself. He wasn't sure what to believe, but he wanted to hear his good friend out more than anything. He knew Mineta had some trouble when it came to the opposite sex, but unless he flat out admitted to any wrongdoing or saw evidence, he would believe in his friend. Seeing how much Kirishima was dealing with only strengthened that resolve. _If Kirishima is having trouble, I know Mineta is probably in a tight spot too._ Denki knew Mineta would be more than willing to stick up for him if the roles were reversed, and that was enough for Denki. _Sure, it looks bad_, he thought, _sure the others think something awful went down, but it could just be a bad coincidence_. It was all he could hope for at least.

Denki was ready to find out the truth, but he did his best not to think too much about what he was going to do if the others were right.

* * *

"Good work everyone," Aizawa's monotone reached the now visibly tired class. "Most of you did well and found creative uses for your quirks but almost everyone avoided using them incorrectly. Some of you performed better than others, so those who were unable to find their casualties in the allotted time, keep today in mind and reflect on what you could do better next time. "

Many of the students were happy with the effort they gave. Mina and Uraraka were given quite a bit of praise for the job they did, not only finding all casualties but also giving proper medical treatment before getting them to safety. Deku and Momo also were singled out for finding a few extra sandbags that a couple of other teams in the flood zone missed, thanks to Momo's creations and Midoriya's speed.

As the students talked amongst one another, Aizawa spoke again, "Mineta. Bakugo. Both of you were the only ones who had lost a casualty because of your own failures. I expect a two-page paper on when and where to use your quirks in a disaster area on my desk first thing tomorrow."

"Damn it! This is all your fault, balls for brains!" Bakugo shouted almost immediately.

Mineta recoiled and looked for someone tall to hide behind as Midoriya tried to calm his childhood rival down.

"Not a word out of you, nerd! He knows what he did!"

Mineta half shrieked as he stood behind Shoji, standing as stoic as ever, "I'm not the one with TNT for sweat!"

"Enough, both you," came the now annoyed voice behind them. Aizawa had his special binds already poised for any continued trouble.

Seeing no possible victory, the two boys settled down with the rest of the class and listened to the rest of their debrief.

* * *

After all that, Mineta was glad to finally be in his room again. It wasn't anything like home, but a warm bed and internet can go a long way. Luckily for him, once class was over Bakugo seemed more ready to start his paper than complain about having to do it or get back at the person who had caused the problem. Mineta couldn't tell if Kirishima had a hand in that but he was thankful either way for the peace and quiet on the way to his room. Momo was curious about what had happened, but he wasn't sure what to leave out, especially what Bakugo knows and why he helped. _She probably wouldn't be happy to hear about romance any time soon_, he thought, as he read her newest message_. I guess I could at least tell her that he was the one who pushed me to apologize and say I don't know why he did it. It's way better than that crap excuse Bakugo gave_.

Thinking about what he should say, Mineta tossed aside the phone for a moment. Without even really thinking, he let his fingers lazily move across the keyboard, finishing yet another paragraph of his paper. It had only been an hour or two since class ended and to his relief the paper was almost done. _I guess it's a good thing I can talk about Bakugo's quirk too_, he thought, _just better be sure it doesn't sound like I'm blaming him for what happened_.

Leaning back in his chair and as he took a drink of soda, Minoru heard his phone buzz again. He reached over to reply to Momo but paused when he read the name texting him. It was Denki. The message simply read:

_Hey bro, you busy?_

Mineta didn't really know what was going on, so he wrote back.

_Just typing that paper because I can't keep my mouth shut. What's up?_

It took a minute or two but as Mineta finished the last of his soda he finally got his reply.

_Can we talk real quick?_

* * *

**AN: It's kind of tough juggling characters like this, but I hopefully did everyone's personal favorites some justice in writing them. I'm still pretty steamed about having to leave it on a cliffhanger rather than include what happens after. I was hoping to have it all ready before the semester started, but homework permitting I should be done with it soon enough. With that out of the way, however, let's get to the reviews!**

**Guest 1: I think the pairing works because it works in my heart. Well that and another fanfic that pretty much cemented the thought into my head. I'm all for character development and the motivations that cause it to occur. I feel that people can change for the better if the right conditions are there for it, and maybe that's what draws me to this. Or maybe I just need a creative outlet that's a challenge.**

**allthecoolusernamesaretaken: Thanks mate. I personally love how Horikoshi makes his characters have their own motivations that aren't just surface level, and I want to reflect that in how I write them, even if it isn't fully canon. I feel like if I don't that I am not really giving his work the respect it deserves, even if the others are side characters for the story. Hope you have been well even after as long as it took me to respond.**

**Guest 3 (and probably 4): You never know, Momo is pretty tall, she probably would look more at their personality and how well they get along if she was looking for someone.**

**Guest 5: Sometimes it feels like the whole world is against you.**

**Mr. Enlightment: That's what I'm trying to do at least. I think the struggle is what makes or breaks a man, and hopefully Mineta will get some peace by the end of it. Thanks for the encouragement!**

**SirSmurgger: Thank you for the kind words. I think all of the kids are capable of being heroes even if they have a heavy weakness in one way or another, and Mineta is no exception to it. Hopefully I can find time between schoolwork to write more. Take care and have a good day as well.**

**Nuuo: I dig the Tsuyu and Mineta pairing as well, but thank you for the encouraging words.**

**Thanks again. As always, whether they're positive or negative reviews, feel free to leave them. **


End file.
